Uganda bans return of bodies of citizens who die of Coronavirus

In his eleventh address to the nation, Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has banned the return of bodies of citizens who died as a result of the Coronavirus disease.

President Museveni directed that citizens abroad known to have died of Coronavirus (COVID-19) should be buried in the countries where they passed away from.

He said, "When somebody dies of COVID19, don't try to bring the body back. Let the person be buried where they died. Let nobody try to bring a dead body of COVID from neighboring countries."

President Museveni also said, "If somebody was to die here in Uganda,  it would be the health workers to bury...its fortunate that we haven’t lost any person here.”

As of Monday, April 20, 2020, Uganda has 55 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 28 people said to have recovered from the disease that has spread around the world.

The president reminded public the practice is not unique to Uganda,  citing countries where the pandemic has hit hardest where some dead bodies are cremated.

Examples of mass burials and cremations have become common in hard hit countries like the USA,  Italy and Spain suffering the brunt of the pandemic.

The  bereaved have been restricted from  fulfilling funeral obligations and only allowed to wave at fleets carrying body bags and coffins.

The precaution is a result of high contagion rate of Covid-19.