Mybrytfmonline.com has gathered that officials of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) briefly arrested and interrogated the undertaker who prepared the covid-19 body released to the family in a bizarre circumstance at the Eastern Regional Hospital.
After minutes of interrogation, the undertaker was released. The undertaker is among many suspects being quizzed by NIB officials as part of its investigation into the incident.
Hospital officials, Mortuary workers, family members, environmental officers among others have all been interrogated.
Hospital’s internal investigation
Meanwhile, the management of Eastern Regional Hospital is investigating the incident which is a violation of the laid down Covid-19 burial procedure.
Speaking to the media in Koforidua Wednesday, March 17, 2021, the Clinical Director at the Eastern Regional Hospital, Dr. Foster Amponsah- Manu said management will assist the police to investigate the incident and will also come out publicly on the final report of its internal findings as well as recommended sanctions to persons found culpable.
“We were equally surprised because the hospital has laid down protocols on how to manage covid bodies or deceased from covid. Usually, we sanitize the body, we disinfect the body, then the body is saved at a different place in a body bag and the environmental officers usually ensure that the body is given the appropriate burial without the influence of the family that is the family touching the body or getting very close to the body, to prevent infection. We lament what the story says and we heard the story is with the Police. We are also investigating the whole matter to find out the truth about the whole issue “He said.
Dr. Foster Amponsah Manu added “Whatever comes out of our investigations the public will be notified about it. We will therefore urge the public to be patient with us so that we can do the necessary investigations into the matter. We will not hide any facts that come out of the investigation. We will not also block the Police from doing their investigation. We will also assist the police”.
Background
Environmental officers from New Juaben South Municipal Assembly of the Eastern Region became shocked when a corpse infected with covid-19 went missing from the mortuary.
The Environmental officers were at the mortuary Sunday, March 14, 2021, at about 5:00am to supervise the preparation of the body of the late Janet Nyarkoa, 66, who reportedly died of Covid-19 for safe burial.
However, to the surprise of the Environmental officers, the body had been taken away by the bereaved family in connivance with the mortuary workers before their arrival.
Mybrytfmonline.com sources indicate that the family took the body to an SDA Church at Ayah Junction area in Koforidua for burial service endangering the lives of the congregants and sympathizers.
The Environmental officers after an unsuccessful search of the whereabouts of the corpse rushed to lock the public cemetery in Koforidua to block the family from going ahead to bury the corpse after breaching Covid-19 burial protocols.
The situation created chaos when the family finally arrived with the body in a speeding hearse.
The Environmental officers led by the New Juaben South Municipal Environmental officer Emmanuel Tetteh blocked the family from burying the corpse and instead directed that they go to the Police station to lodge a formal complaint about the incident.
“I had to prevent them because I don’t know where they took the body to. The body was released at the morgue so find out from the morgue who released the body to the family members without an officer. I should have been there before the body was released to the family. I should have been present. So who gave the body to the family? I will be happy if you do that investigation. Because when I got there to supervise the burial, the body was not there so I rather had to stop them at the cemetery so we reported at the Police Station,” Emmanuel Tetteh told Starr News.
He said it was wrong for the mortuary workers at the Eastern Regional Hospital to release a Covid-19 body to the family knowing the protocols for the burial of such bodies.
“The body shouldn’t have been released. Because it is a covid case the body shouldn’t have been released to the family at the morgue because they know the protocol. So we need to find out who released the body to the family at the morgue”.
Mybrytfmonline.com has gathered that the bereaved family bribed the mortuary workers on duty with Ghc450 to release the body to them.
The body was later buried.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
