The Ondo State Government has given residents one month ultimatum to remove the corpses of their relatives from government mortuaries across the state so as to decongest the morgues.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Wahab Adegbenro, speaking with newsmen on Saturday, said that morgues in government hospitals were already full and would constitute public health hazard if urgent measures were not taken to decongest them.
He said government was not unmindful to the culture, traditions and feelings of the people, stressing however, that the ultimatum was given in the overall interest of everyone.
He warned that all unclaimed and unburied corpses in government morgues across the state might be given mass burial at the end of the expiration date.
Funerals are not prohibited in Ondo state though the government insisted that precautionary measures must be strictly adhered to according to the rules guiding gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The guidelines released by the state government in April stated that burial rites and services must be held at the grave side with not more than 20 people in attendance, while social distancing rule must be obeyed to the letter.
It also said that no burial services in churches or mosques or partying after burial were allowed while face masks must be worn by all attendees.
The commissioner also reminded residents of the state that it has now become an offence to go outside one’s house without putting on a face mask, as it attracts penalty of being quarantined for 14 days.
Furthermore, the commissioner advised residents to keep their nails short so as not to harbour bacteria, wash their hands regularly with soap and running water and use hand sanitisers where possible.
Adegbenro urged parents and guardians to keep their children at home and not expose them to the risk of contracting the Coronavirus virus.
