A circular issued by the Department of Health has advised medical doctors and funeral undertakers that all persons who die at home must be tested for Covid-19. | Sesona_Ngqaks
The testing of all bodies is for the government to have a better understanding of the number of people actually dying of the virus.
"Testing must be done before the human remain were released to the funeral undertaker. The medical doctor/clinician must indicate on the DHA 1663 form that SARS Cov-2 samples have been taken," the circular, which News24 has seen, states. "Where are we going to send the test kits to? There is still a lot of unclarity. The was a meeting with the health department in Gauteng… where they said that they will request the national department to give clear direction to what needs to be done," Van der Westhuizen said.
South African Funeral Practitioners Association president, Libo Mnisi, said it was important the department engages the industry before making such directions because there were multiple challenges that would emanate as a result. He said the reasons behind the new guidelines were to give the government a better idea of just how many South Africans have died of Covid-19.
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