Cuttack: The bodies of patients dying at the isolation wards of SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) here would be wrapped in infection-proof covers for the safety of relatives and attendants.
Many people are now reluctant to participate in the burial or cremation of bodies of patients dying at the isolation wards due to infection threat, sources said.
“Once somebody dies at the isolation ward of SCBMCH, his/her body would be wrapped in infection-proof cover. So, people will not face any problem in carrying out the last rites of their relatives,” said SCBMCH superintendent Annada Prasad Patnaik.
Patnaik further revealed that there would not be any coronavirus test on patients dying at the isolation wards if the same was not carried out prior to their deaths.
“People were facing difficulties to receive the bodies of their relatives who died at the isolation wards due to delay in getting the Covid-19 test reports. The new guidelines will solve the issue,” Patnaik said.
It is worth mentioning here that a few isolation and coronavirus wards were opened at SCBMCH in March first week. A person with coronavirus infection was admitted to the Covid ward of SCBMCH April 3.
The incident caused panic among the patients who had been admitted to the other wards of the premier state-run hospital. Subsequently, the lone coronavirus patient was shifted to a special Covid hospital, sources said.
Since then, only suspected Covid-19 cases are being treated at the isolation wards of SCBMCH. The patients are being immediately shifted to the dedicated Covid hospitals once they are tested positive for the deadly virus, sources said.
Some patients have also died while being treated at the isolation wards of SCBMCH, sources added.