India: Kerala allows bodies of Covid victims to be taken home for brief last rites

Thiruvananthapuram - While Covid cases have declined in many parts of India, Kerala continues to battle the persistently high rates.

The Kerala government has decided to allow bodies of Covid-19 victims to be taken to their homes for the last rites. India’s pandemic protocol does not allow bodies to be taken home, but last year following a court judgement, West Bengal became the first state to allow relatives to do so for the last rites.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the media on Tuesday that many relatives could not see the bodies of their loved ones following their succumbing to Covid, adding to their emotional distress. “The government wants that the bodies of Covid-19 victims should be laid for homage at their homes for a specific time and for conducting rituals as per their faith,” he said. “An hour would be allowed for this.”

The Calcutta high court had last year stipulated guidelines to be followed by the relatives, which included that no religious rites that required touching the body be allowed.