Husband Brings Wife's Body Using Motorcycle, Mukomuko Hospital Says Family Refuses Handling COVID-19

MUKOMUKO - A husband in Mukomuko Regency, Bengkulu, was forced to carry the body of his wife who was suspected of being positive for COVID-19 on a motorbike. He did not get an ambulance from the local hospital.

A man named Soni Efendi (42) a resident of Pelokan Village, District XIV Koto carried the body of his wife Ompilawati (38) on a motorbike on Tuesday, August 3 in the morning.

Soni Efendi, accompanied by his family, Indra Taufik (54), explained the chronology of the incident when Ompilawati, who suffers from diabetes and often receives treatment at the hospital, was taken by motorbike on Monday, August 2 to the hospital because her illness had relapsed.

This Ompilawati had time to undergo treatment at the local hospital, but this housewife breathed her last on Tuesday morning at around 02.00 WIB.

At the time of taking care of the corpse, the RSUD said the body was positive for COVID-19, so the burial of the corpse must follow the standards for handling COVID-19 corpses, but the family refused.

According to Taufik, if the family does not want the body to be treated according to the COVID-19 treatment standards, the RSUD does not provide an ambulance so that the family takes the body home using a motorbike.

"Indeed, when Ompilawati entered the hospital that Monday afternoon, she underwent a rapid test for COVID-19 and she said it was positive, but the family does not believe that she has contracted the corona virus, because the deceased rarely left the house and no one around her house was infected with this virus," he said.

Director of Mukomuko Hospital, dr. Syafriadi did not confirm that there were residents who brought home the bodies of their families using motorbikes.

According to Syafriadi, the incident was just a “miscommunication” between the hospital staff and the family. The body will indeed be subjected to standard COVID-19 remediation because the person concerned is positive based on an antigen rapid test examination.

He said that initially the family had agreed that the body should be buried according to the standard COVID-19 health protocol, but the officers who were in charge of the body at that time were not ready because it was night so officers had to be contacted first.

“After I clarified with the officers, according to my assessment, the family is impatient. We admit that the officers who take care of the bodies are not on standby. You have to be contacted first," he said.

He emphasized that the hospital is very ready to provide services in the form of an ambulance for patients who died at the Mukomuko Hospital. Ambulance cars are ready 24 hours and there are no problems with the recovery of COVID-19 patients, including crates and other equipment.

"It's not true if someone says that RSUD is reluctant to facilitate ambulance cars. In my opinion, this incident was due to miscommunication," said Syafriadi.