The incident came to light after a video of the 45-year-old doctor driving the tractor with the victims body went viral on social media
Photo used for representational purposes
With the rising number of deaths due to Coronavirus, instances of mishandling of bodies are being reported from several states. In a recent incident, a doctor in Telangana drove a tractor, carrying the body of a COVID-19 victim, to the cremation ground as the driver refused to drive.
According to Hindustan Times, Dr Pendyala Sriram, a district medical surveillance officer in Pedapalli district, was on duty when the patient died. As there was no ambulance available at that time and the driver of the tractor, provided by municipal authorities, also refused to drive, the doctor came forward to drive the vehicle to the cremation ground.
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The incident came to light after a video of the 45-year-old doctor driving the tractor with the victim’s body went viral on social media.
#WATCH Telangana: Body of a man who had #COVID19 was driven to the burial ground in a tractor by Dr Sriram, working as Peddapalli District Surveillance Officer for prevention of spread of COVID, after the driver allegedly refused to do it. pic.twitter.com/yRzziKTHqy
— ANI (@ANI) July 13, 2020
“Since it was the first case in the district, the hospital staff also did not know how to handle the body of a Covid-19 victim, including its packing as per the protocol. In fact, there was a lone woman medical officer and some nurses at the hospital. Unfortunately, the hospital does not have a mortuary to preserve the body for a long time and there was not even an ambulance to carry a dead body,” the doctor was quoted as saying.
COVID-19 Victim's Body Carried To Cremation Ground On JCB
After the victim’s death, his body was packed as per the COVID-19 protocol. However, the driver of the tractor refused to carry the body to the crematorium and ran away. Following this, the doctor wore a PPE kit and with the help of the victim’s family, he kept the body in the tractor and drove it to the cremation ground.
COVID-19 Victim's Body Dumped Into Pit By Earthmover
As the country struggles to contain the virus, the disposal of bodies has become a huge problem. In some cases, even the family members refuse to accept the body due to the fear of contracting the virus.
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