Dead trader wrongly declared virus victim

Municipal officials bury the body according to pandemic SOPs

CHICHAWATNI: A trader’s death in Chichawatni was wrongly declared as a case of Covid-19 without waiting for the laboratory report.

He was buried by officials of the Municipal Committee Chichawatni according to coronavirus Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).

The relatives expressed severe grief and anger after it was revealed that the death was categorised under Covid-19 without confirmation from the laboratory.

They appealed to the Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar to take notice of the incident.

As per details, Malik Mohammad Ayub, a trader of Chichawatni New Bazaar, was shifted to Sahiwal District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in a critical condition by his family, after the health department and Rescue 1122 service refused to shift the patient.

The patient died within 24 hours of hospitalisation. After his death, the hospital management refused to hand over the body to his heirs.

Instead the corpse was handed over to the Municipal Committee of Chichawatni six hours later.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2020.