The family of an expat who died from the MERS coronavirus has refused to claim the body and have it repatriated back home amid misplaced fears that they might be infected if they came in contact with the remains.
Dasharati Sattaih, an Indian expat from the Adilabad district in Telangana state was working in the Eastern Province with a leading maintenance company that has contracts with several hospitals. Sattaih contracted the virus and died on June 20, according to sources.
The family was informed of Sattaih’s death but was also given misleading information about the virus by relatives in India. They reportedly warned them to be cautious as they could be infected with the disease if they touched the body.
The employer is cooperating to repatriate the body to India but the family has refused to complete the formalities. This has led to the body lying unclaimed in a morgue.
Repatriation or burial of an expat worker in the Kingdom can be a complicated process which can only be eased with the cooperation of the kin.
In related news, Akrim Singh, an Indian expat from Punjab died following a prolonged illness in Jeddah. The documentation for repatriation of the body was almost complete but suspicions about Singh being infected with the MERS virus caused a delay. An investigation, however, ruled out MERS being the cause of the death.
Sukhbir Singh, a friend of the deceased told Arab News: “Even if my friend had died of MERS, I would have taken his body back home without any fear of contracting the virus.”
The body was finally repatriated home.
Earlier, there were similar reports involving a Filipino nurse who had died of the MERS virus and whose family said that it was only safe to come in contact with the body after it had remained frozen for up to two months.
Irfan Mohammed - Arab News
