Suhail Khan
SRINAGAR: Kashmir’s Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam Tuesday said those people should remember, who disallow burial of COVID-19 victims, they too can die because of this deadly infection.
There have been several incidents when people in various areas opposed burial of those, who died because of COVID-19, in their graveyard.
Kashmir’s Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam has expressed serious concern over this issue.
“Disallowing burial of COVID-19 victims is un-Islamic. People have to take preventive measures to bury a dead body. Like he or she is not given ablution and is wrapped in a cloth. But does Islam say we should not allow burial of these people? No. Doing such acts is un-Islamic,” Nasir-ul-Islam told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).
“Those who disallow burial of these people should remember they too can fall victim of COVID-19. These people could face the same situation. These people did not bring infection on their own. Then why disallowing burial to these people,” he asked.
Kashmir’s Grand Mufti said if any family faces any issue in burial of deceased persons, they should bring it into his notice and he will raise the issue with the administration.
According to reports, a COVID-19 positive patient died in a Srinagar hospital on Sunday. It is alleged that local community members refused to bury the deceased in their graveyard.
Later, an NGO came forward and its volunteers identified the graveyard, dug the grave and performed burial.
However, as per reports when volunteers were on the job, residents opposed it. Volunteers had to face a tough time in convincing them to allow the burial.
This is not an isolated case. Several cases have taken place where locals have opposed the burial of COVID-19 victims.
“Cadavers do not transmit disease”, say the World Health Organisation guidelines for managing bodies of those who die of Covid-19. Indian health ministry guidelines state that “there is unlikely to be an increased risk of Covid infection from a dead body to health workers or family members who follow standard precautions while handling body”.
For healthcare workers, mortuary staff and others directly handling bodies, these standard precautions involve wearing protective gear like gloves and masks, maintaining good hand hygiene and sanitising everything that the body has touched. “For family members, priests and mourners, they involve not touching the body, wearing basic protective gear, and not gathering in groups to pray,” the guidelines read.(KINS)
