Nigerian govt says corpses of COVID-19 patients will not be released to families

The Federal Government of Nigeria has revealed that the corpses of patients who died after contracting COVID-19 will not be released to their families for final burial rites which is the usual norm.

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who spoke at a forum staged by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday, said that such corpses would be handled by the Health Ministry because they are contagious.

“Coronavirus is very dangerous and contagious; there is no medicine for it yet and it is not just capable of killing, overwhelming healthcare system, it will destroy the economy.

“In some countries, they are putting dead bodies in big refrigerators, because the morgues have filled up. Nigerians should not forget that these are not the type of corpses that can be claimed for burial because it must be handled by the ministry of health,” Lai Mohammed said at the forum.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Sanwo-Olu, family, aides test negative

The comment by the minister comes after the Lagos State government discharged 4 people who were earlier admitted with the coronavirus disease.

This brings to a total of 23 people so far discharged from the state’s isolation centres after being treated for the virus.

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