Mortuaries shut over COVID-19 fears in Karachi

Morgues in Karachi were shut on Sunday after it was suspected that two bodies brought to a mortuary were of people who had died from COVID-19.

An administration official said, “The morgues have been closed over fears that the coronavirus will spread from them”.

Pakistani philanthropist and social worker, Ramzan Chhipa confirmed a local news outlet saying that his organisation had temporarily closed its mortuaries in the city following the precautionary measures against the coronavirus.

“We don’t want the virus to be transmitted to a volunteer and from him, to spread to the rest of the city,” he said.

Amid the lockdown in the city, the closing of mortuaries in metropolis created problems for the people of Karachi. Grave-diggers have also disappeared from graveyards due to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown.

Grave-diggers have expressed the fear of the virus being transmitted to them, said the director of graveyards.

Meanwhile, citizens of Karachi have also complained of not finding a grave to bury their loved ones owing to the pandemic.