During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Union and State governments had issued specific protocols for the treatment, isolation, and cremation of deceased patients. Following these directives, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) would handle the cremation of any patient who died of COVID. However, even after the virus has been declared an endemic disease, and almost all restrictions lifted, some protocols are still in place — particularly in government hospitals, where deceased COVID patients are still treated under earlier guidelines.
Recently, one such shocking case came to light at the Government Medical College. After a patient died of COVID, the body was not handed over to the family, who kept pleading and waiting. Instead, the NMC’s Health Department performed the final rites.
The deceased, a 70-year-old patient named Surya from Pipariya village in Madhya Pradesh, was brought to Nagpur’s Government Medical College due to a myocardial infarction (heart attack) after showing symptoms of COVID. Upon arrival, he was admitted and later passed away. Hospital staff confirmed COVID symptoms and registered the death under that cause, after which the body was immediately handed over to the NMC for cremation — without consulting the family.
Due to outdated government notifications, such bodies are still not being returned to families, which caused confusion and emotional trauma to Surya’s relatives. The family was unaware of what was happening and why the body was not being handed over.
The rule, still enforced from the time of the pandemic, states that if a patient dies in a government hospital from COVID-related illness, the body must not be handed over to the family. The final rites are conducted by the municipal corporation.
However, families argue that COVID is no longer considered a critical illness and most restrictions have been lifted, so these rules should be revised. This case highlights the urgent need for updated government guidelines and better communication with families. The relatives have demanded that new SOPs be introduced immediately, so such trauma is not repeated.
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