Mumbai to Mandya: Four of family test +ve after cremating kin

MANDYA: The cremation of an autorickshaw driver a week ago has triggered a controversy as four of his family members who brought the body from Mumbai tested positive on Friday, taking the number of cases in the district to 26. Mandya, which is now in the orange zone, is in danger of slipping into the red after recording 8 new cases.
This is the second instance in two weeks in Mandya when the infection trail has led to Mumbai.Deputy commissioner DC Venkatesh said the body of the driver was brought from Mumbai to Kodagahalli near Melukote in a government ambulance on April 24. Doctors had certified that he had died of cardiac arrest and there was no mention of coronavirus in the medical certificates, he said.
Prevention protocol was followed: Official
The cremation took place in Kodagahalli village near Melukote. About 50 people from the village attended the funeral. The 53-year-old auto driver had been working in Mumbai for the past 15 years. “The man died of cardiac arrest on April 23 and his body was taken to his native village as the family wanted to conduct the last rites there,” Venkatesh said.
“He died in a government hospital (VN Desai Hospital) in Santa Cruz and doctors certified that heart attack was the cause of his death. Local officers of Bruhanmumbai Municipal Corporation had issued authorisation letters to transport the body from Maharastra to Karnataka in a government hospital ambulance. The vehicle carrying the body crossed as many as 20 check posts before reaching here,” Venkatesh said.
When the ambulance reached Pandavapura taluk on the evening of April 24, the local administration did not allow the body to enter the village but allowed relatives to cremate it outside the village.
Asked if the family members were screened before being allowed to enter Karnataka, the DC said there was no laxity on the part of district authorities. “As soon as the ambulance from Mumbai entered the district, all Covid-related protocol was carried out. Family members were quarantined in a hostel,” the DC said. “Though the four were asymptomatic, we made sure to quarantine them.” In all, seven family members were quarantined and their samples sent for testing on April 28. The deceased man’s son, daughter-in-law, daughter and a grandchild tested positive.
The DC ruled out the possibility of the infection spreading from the deceased man. “The victim’s wife tested negative. From our enquiries, we know that his son works in the loan department of a bank (in Mumbai) and we suspect that he contracted the infection and passed it on to his family members too. We have written to BMC and hospital authorities in Mumbai seeking details of the death and if family members were tested for Covid-19 before being allowed to travel,” Venkatesh said. Kodagahalli village has been sealed.
After testing positive, all four are being treated in the isolation ward in Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences. Authorities are trying to trace those who might have come into contact with the four people.