Kenyans are set to bid bye to the infamous “men in white” tasked with the internment of COVID-19 victims in the country after the government revised burial protocols.
Head of Public Health, Dr. Francis Kuria on Monday said the Ministry of Health will issue a raft of revised guidelines later in the week.
He noted that the new burial protocols will address the issue of stigma associated with the “men in white”.
“We know people have had concerns over the ‘men in white’, we hope the protocols as we roll them out will make sure you do not see so many men in white again,” he said.
“We have finalised the revised protocols that are going to guide us while conducting burials moving forward…hopefully the protocols are going to address the concerns of stigma…”
Dr Kuria said in the revised protocols, bodies would likely be released to the next-of-kin for the final send-off. He said burials will be supervised at a lower scale to minimise stigmatisation.
He also noted that: “The risks of transmission during burial are almost nil. That is if the proper regulations to conduct burials are observed.”
The Health official said the measures will ensure that mourners have no contact with bodily fluids of the deceased during the ceremony. This after a study established that the main mode of transmission of Covid-19 is via droplets meaning bodies of coronavirus victims are not as infectious as previously thought.
