A shocking death and burial of a coronavirus patient

Rawalpindi : It was really a horrible experience to bury a confirmed patient of COVID-19, the disease caused by 2019 novel coronavirus as it was painful for the family members including sons who were unable to attend the funeral that was managed in a sense as a crime was committed, at least the behaviour of residents living around the graveyard convinced one to think so.

Would you please dig the grave a little farther from the window of my house, came a sound from a house located on the boundary of graveyard in Dheri Hassanabad, Lalkurti area explaining to the gravediggers that they were digging grave of a COVID-19 patient. “You all are at risk as you may get infection from the dead body,” said the resident and in not more than half-an-hour, the gravediggers fled from the scene.

Another group of labourers was arranged for the task though it took another three hours. It had already taken at least two hours for the relatives and a close friend of the dead patient to get permission from police and graveyard authorities to get their dear one buried in the graveyard in the community where the patient had lived for over 50 years of his life.

Five to seven family members were allowed to attend the funeral prayer of 76-year old S Ali who died of coronavirus illness at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). He went on foot to at least three private hospitals in Rawalpindi and Islamabad in the evening on April 19 before landing at PIMS around midnight and it took nearly a week for him after confirmation of COVID-19 to get to the final stage of his journey towards death.

He died on April 27 in the morning around 9:00 a.m. though his dead body had to wait for over 14 hours to get buried just because he was positive for COVID-19, a disease that is still not being taken as seriously by a huge number of people in the country as it is.

The grave digging could not be started till 3:00 p.m. due to hurdles created by local authorities including supervisor at the graveyard and because of refusal of gravediggers, mainly because of involvement of residents living around the graveyard.

Ali who had served in Radio Pakistan tested positive for coronavirus illness on April 21 and within next 24 hours, his family members including wife, daughter and two sons were locked down at home under quarantine in Rawalpindi. The health department collected samples of the family members for coronavirus testing and informed them that they were not allowed to come outside home come what may.

S Ali was deprived of his cell phone in less than 24 hours after admission to PIMS as he was shifted to intensive care unit of corona management isolation ward and had to be on oxygen support. His family got disconnected from him and his children became unable to even listen to their father.

The family saw the patient alive or dead last time on April 21 as after that, the dead body came out of the hospital wrapped and packed in a coffin box on April 27. After April 21, the family members were not allowed to come out of home in Dheri Hassanabad.

The health department arranged Rescue 1122 ambulance to bring dead body of S Ali to the graveyard but it was only possible after 12 hours of his death as the grave was not ready. “Why are you burying a COVID-19 patient in this graveyard?” questioned a resident on arrival of the ambulance. Take the dead body where ever you can or should we go to the high-ups, said another resident close to graveyard making video clip of the dead body being off loaded.

Almost none of the residents was willing to allow the ambulance to park in front of his house and as soon as the dead body got off loaded, the street got deserted as the dead man was a patient of COVID-19, a disease that is still being thought as fake by many.

After 12 in the night, 15 hours after the death, the dead body could be buried and it seemed as the dead man belonged to nowhere in this world.

The government, however, is going to ease lockdown and may be, in next few days, many people would witness the like burials in their vicinities.