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Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Government has placed N10 million penalty on owners of corpses, who contravene Executive Order on burial guidelines.
Daily Sun gathered that in the latest Executive Order, Rivers government must give an approval before any corpse would be buried, otherwise defaulters would be fined N10 million.
It was further gathered that the new order was another step to check the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Rivers, by the state government.
Section three of the new Executive Order stipulated that anybody who has an intention to organise a public burial in the state, or carry any corpse to another state within the period of COVID-19 pandemic, must apply to Rivers governor through the commissioner for health.
The document further stated that any application for approval related to burial of anybody, who died from February 1, 2020, must attach death certificate of the deceased and cause of death, whether or not it was related to COVID-19.
Similarly, owner(s) of the corpse would sign an undertaking to pay N10 million to the state government if they go against the guidelines or protocol as contained in the executive order.
Another part of the document stated that, in the event the burial would take place in Rivers and the cause of death was COVID-19, it must be conducted between 9am and 12 noon.
It added that not more than 50 people, including members of the deceased’s family, would be at the burial and everybody must maintain social distancing of not less than two metres and wear face mask.
Further contents of the document stated that government officials must witness the burial and conveyance of the corpse outside the state (if death related to COVID-19) must be done under the supervision of health officials.
The order took effect from June 5, and it would remain in force till further notice. The public burial as explained in the document referred to traditional, Christian or any burial that the public would attend and participate.
