Deceased Covid patient's body kept at home for 48hrs after authorities fail to take action

In a shocking incident, a Kolkata-based family was forced to keep the COVID deceased body of their family member at their home for 2 days, after authorities failed to respond to their calls.

The 71-year-old had been suffering from high fever for the past few days. The local doctor who had visited them to get him tested for COVID. However, while his test results were awaited, the old man passed away on Monday. 

Shortly after this, the family contacted the police, who asked them to get in touch with the local municipality who would help them with the cremation process. Calls to the local municipality fell on deaf ears after which the family tried contacting the State Health Department. 

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Meanwhile, in a desperate attempt to prevent the body of their family member from decomposing, the family brought an air-conditioning box while they waited for the state authorities to get back to them and help them with the cremation. 

Even after getting the test results on the following day, State authorities did not get back to the family. It was only on Wednesday that the Kolkata police finally sent an ambulance to collect the dead body. 

By this time, the family had not only suffered a great ordeal, but the entire building had also been contaminated as the family members had been venturing in and out of their homes searching for ways to cremate the dead body over the past 2 days. 

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has finally taken cognizance of the matter, and the body will be cremated as per the ICMR guidelines. West Bengal has reported 19,170 cases to date and has recorded 683 deaths, as per the State Health Department. 

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(Representative Image)