KOMPAS.com – Hundreds of residents of Mekar Sari Village, Gunung Sari District, West Lombok, came to the City General Hospital (RSUD) Mataram on Monday (7/7/2020) night.
They took the corpse of a positive patient Covid-19 with the initials MS (50) who died on Monday afternoon.
Residents who showed emotion broke into the Graha Building, a isolation for Covid-19 patients in Mataram City Hospital.
They did not accept that MS was tested positive for Covid-19. They accuse the determination of Covid-19’s positive status as merely engineering.
Moreover, MS was hospitalized due to a traffic accident. Security forces and medical teams were overwhelmed by hundreds of residents.
“Take it home, we bury it our way,” cried the hundreds of people repeatedly.
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The medical team, sub-district task force, and village officials, had a chance to negotiate with the families of positive patients Covid-19.
“We have tried to take the middle way, so that all according to the Covid-19 protocol, but many residents and forced to bring bodies, I was also forced to sign to approve the bodies taken home,” said Gunung Sari Sub-District Head, Muhammad Mudasir in Mataram City Hospital, Monday ( 7/6/2020).
MS patient died on Monday, around 18:30 WITA. The patient tested positive for Covid-19 after he died.
Families receive positive status of Covid-19
Mudasir said, the family had received a positive MS Decided Covid-19. However, families object if the patient is bathed in the hospital.
They want to bring the patient home to the funeral home. The organization of the remains will also be carried out by the family.
“Residents want to take the body home and be bathed in a funeral home, this is certainly not in accordance with the Covid-19 protocol, we are trying to prevent it,” said Mudasir who is also the Chairperson of the Covid-19 Task Force in Gunung Sari District.
The medical team and the Covid-19 rifle have provided some flexibility. The family can take a bath at the hospital.
“They were actually allowed to take part in bathing the body in the hospital in full PPE clothes,” Mudasir said.
Residents are also allowed to hold a corpse with the application of health protocols, such as wearing masks and keeping a distance before the funeral.
Family members, he said, were also allowed to bury the body as long as they used the full PPE.
“But it still cannot be dammed,” Mudasir said.
Hundreds of residents brought the bodies of Covid-19 patients using a taxi.
Also read: Hundreds of People Take Forced Bodies of Covid-19 Patients, Brought to Funeral Home with Taxis
The taxi driver could not refuse the requests of hundreds of residents and deliver the body to the funeral home.
After that, hundreds of residents broke up and left the hospital. They followed the taxi carrying the body.
Victim of a traffic accident
Meanwhile, Head of the Mataram City Police Ops Commissioner Muhammad Taufik explained that the reason why residents did not accept MS was stated positive by Covid-19.
MS, he said, was a victim of a traffic accident that was hit by a truck on July 2, 2020.
The patient was treated at one of Lombok’s hospitals. But, MS was referred to the Mataram City Hospital because of experiencing shortness of breath.
“The patient swab was positive for Covid-19, after he died, and his funeral had to be according to the Covid-19 protocol but was strongly rejected by Mekar Sari’s family and residents,” Taufik said.
Taufik admitted being overwhelmed by hundreds of residents and families who forcibly took the bodies of MS patients.
Taxi drivers undergo rapid test
Taufik ensured that taxi drivers who were forced to bring the bodies of MS patients to the funeral home would undergo a Covid-19 rapid test. This is to ensure the driver is not infected.
The taxi was also not permitted to operate temporarily. The car will be sprayed using a disinfectant liquid.
Taufik said that the case of forced collection of the bodies of Covid-19 patients often occurred in several corona referral hospitals.
Also read: Forced Retrieval of the Bodies of Covid-19 Patients in Mataram, Camat: I Forced to Approve
He hopes residents prioritize safety and hand over handling the bodies of patients according to the Covid-19 protocol.
There are 1,391 positive cases of Covid-19 in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) until Monday (7/7/2020). A total of 98 patients died.
The highest case was recorded in Mataram City with 614 positive cases of Covid-19. As many as 37 patients of whom died.
(Contributor Mataram, Fitri Rachmawati)
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