Body of Covid-19 victim awaits repatriation in London mortuary

LONDON: Pakistani authorities are refusing to repatriate the dead body of a Karachi resident who lost life to COVID-19 in London during a family visit.

Pakistani citizen Syed Israrul Hassan Zaidi, 62, was visiting the UK to see his children but unfortunately contracted coronavirus and lost the battle for his life to the disease.

According to the official documents of St Peter's Hospital, Israrul Hassan Zaidi died due to COVID-19, multi-organ failure and Type-2 diabetes. Israrul Hassan Zaidi was draftsman and lived in Karachi’s Al-Noor Society. He was visiting London to be with his daughter Afsheen Shiraz whose husband Shiraz Zaidi passed away in a traffic accident few months ago.

A repatriation letter issued by St Peter's Hospital reads: "The body has been enclosed in a body bag and is to be transported in zinc lined, hermetically sealed coffin which has been carried out by a funeral directory service in the UK in order so that there is no risk to any persons responsible for handling the coffin."

In an exclusive conversation with The News, the deceased's son, Ali Raza said: "My father is a Pakistani citizen, he lived all his life in Pakistan. His last wish was to be buried in Pakistan. My father’s dead body is in mortuary in Stanmore Imambargah and we will not bury him until we are allowed to take the body to Pakistan."

Initially, the family had been granted permission by the Pakistan High Commission for the repatriation of the body and also received a no-objection certificate (NOC) in this regard. The NOC grants permission for the transport of the body of the coronavirus patient on the conditions that the coffin is hermetically sealed with zinc oxide and is airtight, and the PIA is requested to transport the body as per the guidelines of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination.

The deceased’s son Ali Raza claimed that permission was initially granted to him but later on officials at the PIA refused permission on the day of repatriation.

Speaking to The News, a PIA official said that the permission for repatriation of the dead body was initially granted on the understanding that the deceased was not a COVID-19 victim.

He said: "This is an infectious disease. Prior permission of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is required before transporting such bodies. Moreover, we have not received instruction from our head office to carry such cases. SOP also requires to arrange PPE for staff handling the coffin. My handling agent is not prepared for that."

The senior official from the PIA said that he needed clear operational guidelines from PIA's head office in Karachi before transporting a COVID-19 positive body.

The Ministry of National Health Services has issued these guidelines for the air transport of COVID-19 positive bodies.

"The staff involved in the handling and transfer of the body must wear appropriate PPEs i.e. gown, gloves and appropriate mask. Any puncture holes or wounds (resulting from removal of catheter, drains, tubes, or otherwise) should be disinfected with 1 percent hypochlorite and dressed in impermeable material. The body must be wrapped in two cloths soaked in 10 percent formalin solution. Body bags are not necessary unless there is any leakage of body fluids from orifices. The body should then be placed in a hermetically sealed inner containment. Disinfect the exterior of the inner containment with disinfectant formulations such as sodium hypochlorite with concentration of 5000-6150 ppm to 500-615 ppm free chlorine or 70 percent ethanol solution. Disinfect the exterior of the sealed coffin. The record must be maintained through a certificate detailing the date, time and manner of disinfection must be issued by the undertaker or funeral director and submitted to the freight forwarder/aircraft operator. The coffin is transferred to the aircraft after clearance from the aircraft operators depending on the type of aircraft, requirements of entry and prior approval of the countries of origin, transit and destination."

According to the family, they have met all the conditions and that’s why they had also been granted permission by the Pakistan High Commission in London but PIA is refusing to cooperate with them, leaving the body of their beloved father in an uncertain future.