The Ministry of Health (MoH) has relaxed burial guidelines in line with the revised World Health Organisation (WHO) protocols.
Family members will now be allowed to handle bodies of their loved ones as they conduct their final rites in accordance with their culture.
In the past 6 months, bodies have been handled by health officials wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).
The guidelines were issued in Mach when the first coronavirus case was confirmed in the country.
Most families were left stigmatised as the protocols were painful and against funeral rites of a majority of the Kenyan communities.
“As new information becomes available, the ministry continuously improves strategies in fighting this infectious disease. Families and communities will play a greater role in the burial of loved ones who succumb to Covid-19,” Dr Mwangangi said on Tuesday.
Health officials dressed in PPEs buried Covid-19 bodies initially as the family members watched from a distance.
A new evidence suggests that Covid-19 bodies are not infectious as initially thought.
“The families will take the centre stage in the ceremonies, with health officials only guiding the process. They will also allow safe burial rites dictated by religion or culture of the deceased person,” Dr Mwangangi said.
Source: Nation
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