Zimbabwe has placed a ban on families transporting dead relatives to their areas of birth for burial as it battles to halt the rising spread of the coronavirus.
The decision to ban the movement of corpses between cities followed a rise in the numbers of Covid-19 cases after the festive season that saw the country imposing a stricter lockdown on January 4.
Public viewing of bodies and the tradition of having a corpse stay overnight in the family’s home before burial has also been banned by the police.
“Police will only clear body movements for burial straight from a funeral parlour/hospital mortuary to the burial site,” said Paul Nyathi, the police spokesperson, who also is the Assistant Commissioner.
The Zimbabwe Association for Human Rights Doctors (ZAHDR) however criticized the drastic measures, saying the approach was not grounded by science.
“They seem to be using guidelines from Ebola and cholera outbreaks. Yet the pathophysiology of the diseases is different,” said Norman Matara, a ZAHDR official.
“Are these decisions scientifically driven?
“What are the benefits of disinfecting a burial site before the burial?
“The risk of transmission is more from gatherings during a burial and less likely from the dead body.
“Our policies should ensure compliance and restrictions of gatherings during a burial, not restricting the corpse from being moved to a preferred burial site.”
The United States Centres for Disease Control (CDC) notes that “there is currently no known risk associated with being in the same room at a funeral or visitation service with the body of someone who died of Covid-19.”
As of January 11, the number of positive COVID-19 cases recorded in Zimbabwe had risen to 22,297 with 528 deaths and 13,213 recoveries.
The country’s health system is already struggling to cope with the surge in Covid-19 cases as hospitals and care centers are running out of beds for patients who need hospitalisation.
Authorities say investigations are underway to figure out whether the new Covid-19 strains are driving the infections in Zimbabwe.
South Africa and the United Kingdom have in recent months discovered new Covid-19 variants that are said to spread much faster. Both countries have large populations of Zimbabwean immigrants,
In December, when Zimbabwe reopened its borders after closing them for over eight months to slow down the spread of the coronavirus, a huge number of citizens travelled home for the Christmas holiday.
On January 5, the borders were closed again after Covid-19 infections went out of control.