The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, has allayed fear about the possibility of contracting coronavirus from corpse of person who died of the pandemic.
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Speaking on Wednesday at the Presidential Task Force Briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja, Ihekweazu said the fluid on the dead bodies of persons who died as a result of the dreadful disease were not as infectious as that of Ebola and Lassa Fever victims.
The DG explained that odds were against contracting coronavirus through dead bodies of infected deceased persons but urged caution during such burial exercise.
He said: “The burial of a case of COVID-19 is not as risky as the one of Lassa and Ebola. The one of Lassa and Ebola we know that when they pass away, their body fluids are very infectious, and so we advise on an elaborate process that is culturally very difficult for any part of our country to avoid any contact with body fluids.
“We have released advisory on burials for COVID-19, but it doesn’t have the same level of infectivity of Lassa or Ebola because it is not transmitted through body fluids, but it is a viral infection and transmitted through respiratory tract. It doesn’t die with the person. The virus survives a while. We still advise on a fairly safe burial but the risks are not as high as Lassa and Ebola”.
