The family of a person in Ri-Bhoi who was declared Covid-19 positive after he died has rejected the diagnosis.
Tensing Nongrum, the brother-in-law of the deceased, from Umwiehsnieh village, informed that his relative was admitted to Shillong Civil Hospital on October 1 while suffering from vomiting and stomach ache and passed away the following day.
The hospital gave the family the news that the deceased had tested positive after the burial, which was conducted without following Covid protocols for disposal of the dead.
“As the family of the deceased we cannot accept the claim of Shillong Civil Hospital that he was positive for Covid-19 and after he passed away they (the hospital) allowed us to take his body home for the funeral without any instruction or guidelines,” Nongrum said adding, “What is the point of categorizing him as a Covid-19 patient after his burial?”
Umwiehsnieh village headman, Drissing Pyngrope, and the Ri-Bhoi Youth Federation (RBYF) have both slammed the “negligence” of the hospital staff for not informing the family of the diagnosis before releasing the body to them.
