Protests against COVID-19 services force government intervention
Two doctors, from the Southern Indian province of Tamil Nadu, were diagnosed with COVID-19 and lost their lives. As the families tried to bury the deceased, protests broke out, even getting violent, out of fear that the burial would spread coronavirus. Forcing the families to find new burial grounds.
The burial of the infected deceased has had to become top secret. With one of the doctors rumored to have been buried, in the darkness of the night, by old colleagues after the family had been chased away by a violent mob earlier.
As a result of the violence, a case was brought to the Madras High Court. The Chennai police also filed cases against dozens from the mob.
The government is now creating awareness of Section 74 under the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, which states that any move to prevent “dignified burial or cremation of those who had died of a notified disease” will be a criminal offense. The punishment could be up to three years in prison in addition to a fine.