KAMPALA — The Ministry of Health has put six A-Plus Funeral Services staff and two other individuals under under a 14 day institutional quarantine in Kayunga after getting into contact with a body returned from Qatar, one of the countries considered to be high risk.
Dr. Henry Mwebesa the Director General Health Services in a statement released on Tuesday April 22, said those put in quarantine received a body of a one Daniel Sebuliba, 30 Male whose body was returned from Doha, Qatar.
Whereas his death was reported as Acute Respiratory Syndrome, the Ministry says the process is to rule out any anomalies related to any novel coronavirus contraction.
Sebuliba’s body arrived at Entebbe International Airport on Sunday April 19, 2020 and was received by A-plus and two of his relatives.
On learning of the incident, Ministry of Health and Uganda Red Cross teams took over burial ceremonies from A-Plus and accorded the deceased safe and descent burial in Kayunga, Dr. Mwebesa said, adding the that ceremony was directly supervised by an MoH commissioner.
Why buried by Red Cross and Ministry of Health?
Uganda Red Cross says with the current COVID-19 situation, government the considered him to be buried under tight measures to prevent the family members from being exposed.
“The process of moving a dead body that came through from a high risk country and transit centre, can easily become a point of infection and transfer of the coronavirus,”
“To avoid exposing the family, government of Uganda assigned Uganda Red Cross this role through the Ministry of Health and the body was buried in Kayunga,” a Uganda Red Cross staff said.
The Red Cross staff added that all family members who were in contact with the body were also handed over to the District Health team for examination just to rule out any anomalies.
Addressing the nation on Sunday night, President Museveni said that anybody who has died of the coronavirus “must be buried where they have died”.
While some Ugandans have died of the virus abroad, Uganda has not registered any COVID-19-related death within its boundaries,” the Ministry clarified.
Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO)’s International Health Regulations (IHR) has directed that every case that is confirmed for COVID-19 should be registered and treated at the host country.