Zamboanga funeral workers, who bury dead PUI, advised to go on quarantine

ZAMBOANGA CITY –– Health officials have advised funeral workers, who took care of the body and buried a 57-year-old patient under investigation (PUI), who died on Saturday, March 21, to go on quarantine.

Dr. Joshua Brillantes, assistant regional director of the Department of Health (DOH) in Western Mindanao, said he asked those who were present during the burial, “especially those who buried the body,” to go on home quarantine.

For the embalmers and other workers who cleaned the body, Brillantes said funeral parlors have already been notified, and they have their protocols in handling cadavers with infectious cases.

The woman was buried on Sunday, March 22.

Even without the result of a test whether the woman has coronavirus disease (COVID-19), health authorities have advised the members of her immediate family, hospital staff, who took care of her, friends, relatives, and colleagues at work, who came in contact with the patient, to go on quarantine.

The woman, a diabetic who traveled to the United Kingdom last January, complained of breathing difficulties, hence was brought to the hospital on March 18.

Because she has symptoms akin to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), doctors categorized her as a person under investigation (PUI) and a swab sample taken from her for testing at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

However, she was diagnosed and treated for a urinary tract infection.

The funeral workers lamented that they were not adequately informed about the circumstances at the time they were contacted to prepare the cadaver for burial.

A daughter of one of the undertakers at the Catholic cemetery said her family members helped during the burial, although they maintained a certain distance to respect the rites.

“We were quite surprised when the police escorts and those who were there started spraying something,” she recalled.

On Sunday night, when the undertakers learned about the woman’s case, she said they were all alarmed. “They should have informed us, so we can also prepare.”

The DOH has advised the family to bury the woman within 12 hours.

LZB