To stop the spread of coronavirus the Italian government has implemented a countrywide lockdown. And while security protocols are helping deter the spread of the virus, it’s also leaving families trapped with the dead bodies of Covid-19 victims who die at home.
Italy has become the new epicenter of Covid-19, after the virus started in China a few months ago, forcing the entire country to go into lockdown. Citizens are not allowed to leave their homes without a document which states who they are, their home address, and their purpose for being outside. All nonessential retailers are closed.
The government mandated isolation is supposed to help contain the outbreak and help limit the spread of the disease. It also comes with new challenges for death care workers who now have to work within new parameters of the disease and the government limitations. Making it specifically difficult regarding those who have died at home.
Last Monday a woman was stranded in her home with her deceased husband, due to the rules around removing a body with the disease. While the government had offered to take the man to the local hospital for recovery before his passing he was denied for unknown reasons. The situation creates a new dynamic for the government and Italian death care professionals.
The mayor of Borghetto Santo Spirito, Giancarlo Canepa confirmed with the media that:
“Yes, it is true she is still there with the body and we won’t be able to remove it until Wednesday morning,”
“ Quarantine protocol states that no one is allowed to approach the body” and “Unfortunately, we have a security protocol we must follow.”
While this would ideally have been a one off case two other Covid-19 victims have struggled with receiving the peace, treatment, and removal the deceased deserve and normally receive.
The brother of one of the victims went on social media stating that no funeral homes will assist him or get back to him. After millions of views and public outrage, a funeral home in the area reached out to assist him. With the local funeral home directors association, Efi Campania, stating that the delay in collecting Teresa’s body was due to administrative hurdles, not any reluctance on their part.