A coalition of Civil Society Organisations, the COVID-19 Situation Room, has decried the state of morgues in Rivers State which they say is littered with corpses.
The group expressed concern that the new burial guidelines instituted by the State Government to check the spread of the pandemic is overstretching the morgues.
The Rivers State Coronavirus intervention and impact monitoring group issued the update in Port Harcourt.
The Rivers State Government prescribed N10 million fine as punishment for any funeral ceremony without the approval of the State Government through the Ministry of Health.
The COVID-19 Situation Room in its update signed by the group’s Chairman, Stevyn Obodoekwe and five others faulted the new guidelines.
They said families of deceased persons could not claim their corpses because they were unable to secure burial approvals from the state government.
“The policy insists anybody wanting to organize burial or other ceremonies must first get approval from the governor.
“The governor won’t have a chance for such approvals with his busy schedules of office.
“The Government should rather work out guidelines on how burials and sundry ceremonies should be conducted in line with NCDC rules instead of stressing bereaved families with decaying corpses in mortuaries while applying for clearance before burial.
“The government should publish and publicize all guidelines on newspapers, social media, news bulletins and on leaflets on the streets,” the Update reads.
