A funeral in Mumbai was attended by over 200 people after which it was revealed that the deceased was coronavirus positive.
On July 21, a 28-year-old pregnant woman's funeral was attended by 200 people in Kandivali. Four days later, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) informed she was coronavirus positive. The news has created a feeling of fear among the people who attended the funeral.
The family of the woman has blamed BMC and Cooper Hospital for negligence, where the woman was admitted, for failing to inform about the coronavirus test results on time.
"My pregnant daughter-in-law developed Covid-like symptoms last week after which we took her to Cooper Hospital where she was admitted to the ICU ward. On the evening of July 20, she passed away and the hospital officials handed over her body to us," says the woman's father-in-law.
The family conducted death-related rituals on the body and the funeral was attended by many relatives and the residents of the building as well. The body was kept in the society compound for over an hour, informed a relative. Many who attended the funeral, came in contact of the body.
On Friday, four days after the funeral, the BMC informed the family members that the woman was Covid-19 positive.
A relative said, "This is clear negligence of the hospital and BMC. Everybody knows that if a person is coronavirus positive, the body is not supposed to be given back to the relatives. Why did the hospital authorities handed back the body to us? We could have waited few more days for the coronavirus test results to come. Now, if any of us or those who attended the funeral are found positive for coronavirus, Cooper Hospital will be responsible. If we knew she was Covid-19 positive, we would not have brought the body back home".
Sandeep Bhansode, BMC health official said, "The woman's coronavirus test results came out positive today itself".