LAGOS GRANTS RESIDENTS PERMISSION TO BURY CORPSE
The Lagos State Government has decided to allow residents who have corpses in mortuaries but have not been able to bury them in the last two months due to the lockdown order occasioned by the spread of coronavirus to do so.
While speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Saturday, the governor of the state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said corpses should be buried within the next two weeks to decongest mortuaries. which, if not done, might leave the government with no choice than to organize mass burial.
Sanwo-Olu, however, clarified that the corpses are not in any way related to coronavirus death cases, adding that the state has only recorded 18 cases of death from COVID-19 as of 24th April.
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"These are not COVID-19 deaths in any form. Funerals have not been held in the last two months or so, so congestion is not as a result of death from COVID-19, which is only 18 recorded so far in the state," he said.
He urged Lagosians who have corpses in the mortuaries to prepare to bury their bodies while restrictions are lifted on the burying exercise for the stipulated period of 2 weeks.
Sanwo-Olu, while stating conditions for burial to take place, urged all to take cognizance of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The governor said visitors at funerals must not exceed 20 persons- including the officiating ministers, and social as well as physical distancing must be observed.
All attendees or mourners must wear face masks as well as wash their hands before and after the burial rites, and no party, no matter how small it might look, should take place after funeral ceremonies.
"As long as you keep these directives and you fully comply with them, funerals would be allowed and encouraged to take place immediately," the governor said.
"If we are unable to see a decongestion of the mortuaries across the state within the next two weeks, Lagos state government will now be compelled to seek to have mass burial, and we don't want to force this on anybody, that is why we are asking for the cooperation of all of us," he added.
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