Twenty-one die allegedly after burying man without following COVID-19 protocol
(Sourced from PTI)
Twenty-one people died in as many days at a village in Rajasthan's Sikar district allegedly after a COVID-19-infected corpse was buried without following protocol. However, officials said that only four deaths occurred due to the virus between April 15 and May 5. According to officials, a COVID-19-infected body was brought to Kheerva village on April 21 and about 150 people attended the last rites.
The body was taken out of the plastic bag and several people touched it during burial. "Only three-four deaths have occurred due to COVID-19 out of 21 deaths. A majority of deaths are from the older age group. Samples of 147 members of families where deaths have occurred have been taken to confirm the cause," Lakshmangarh sub-divisional officer Kulraj Meena told PTI on Saturday.
"The district administration has carried out a sanitization drive in the village. Villagers are being explained about the severity of the problem caused. The villagers have been cooperative throughout the process," he said. Sikar's Chief Medical and Health Officer Ajay Chaudhary said that a report has been sought from the local authorities following which he will be able to comment on the matter.
Kheerva falls in Congress State President Govind Singh Dotasra's assembly constituency. He had first shared the information about deaths following the burial of an infected corpse on social media but later removed it. "With profound grief, I have to say that more than 20 people have lost their lives and several are infected," he had tweeted.
Rajasthan reported 18,231 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours taking the total tally to 7,20,799 in the state. It registered the death of 164 people yesterday. The total number of deaths now stands at 5,346 in the desert state. Meanwhile, India reported 4.01 lakh coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking the country's overall caseload past 2.18 crore.
