Morgue attendant dies hours after mother

Nine KEM mortuary staffers have tested positive for COVID-19

A 52-year-old morgue attendant from the civic-run Sion hospital succumbed to COVID-19 on May 24, hours after his 75-year-old mother died of the infection at the same hospital. The civic employee, who had hypothyroidism and hypertension, was reporting to work despite of his co-morbidities as there was acute shortage of staff.

“We kept telling him not go to work, but he said many of his colleagues were not reporting for duty,” said his 22-year-old son. While the mortuary staff member was admitted to Sion hospital on May 21, his mother had been admitted two days before.

“He was fine, moving around in the ward. But his condition suddenly deteriorated on the evening of May 24 and he passed away,” said the son, adding that the same morning, his grandmother had passed away too. “We had not informed him about his mother’s death. But since he was an employee of the hospital, everyone knew him and someone must have broken the news to him,” said the son.

The deceased was a resident of Kurla. He is survived by three children and his wife. The hospital’s dean, Dr. Ramesh Bharmal, said the patient had many co-morbidities.

Triggering fear

His death triggered fear among those working in the mortuary and handling bodies on a daily basis. In the civic-run KEM Hospital, nine mortuary staff members have tested positive, leaving only four workers on duty.

A morgue attendant carries out all the paperwork and verifies bodies being taken in and out of the cold storage.

“While morgue attendants do have to be in close proximity of dead bodies, the other mortuary staff like labourers and helpers are constantly handling the bodies. Now, there is a lot of gear among them,” said Pradeep Narkar, head of the Municipal Mazdoor Union.

According to Mr. Narkar, the KEM Hospital mortuary staff who have tested positive have been isolated at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Parel, where 50 beds have been set aside for KEM healthcare staff.

Among employees above the age of 55, those with co-morbidities have been asked to stay home. This has also resulted in a severe shortage of Class IV staff in civic hospitals, which are overburdened with COVID-19 cases. Because of the lockdown, many have to travel long distances in BEST buses organised for them.