The presidential task force on COVID-19 has apologised for mistakes made during the burial of late chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari.
The national coordinator of the task force, Sani Aliyu, made this appeal to Nigerians during a press briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja.
Aliyu said: “The PTF will like to acknowledge and apologise for the mistakes that were made regarding the burial of the late Chief of Staff.
“We realised that crowd control failed, we have learned from this and we will ensure that future events are adequately regulated and follow the task force’s protocols.
“The Gudu Cemetery had since been decontaminated, the personal protective equipment discarded at the site; decontaminated being burned and discarded according to the NCDC guidelines.
“I’ll like to further clarify the issue of COVID-19 and the burial processes. Contrary to what is on social media, the body of the late Chief of Staff was properly prepared for burial, according to NCDC guidelines and the Islamic faith.
“The bodies of persons with COVID-19, as stated clearly by the WHO guidelines except in cases of viral haemorrhagic fever and cholera, dead bodies are generally not infectious. To date, there’s no evidence of persons having become infected from exposure to the bodies of persons who had died of COVID-19.”
Okay.ng recalls that Abba Kyari, who passed away from complications of COVID-19 on Friday, was buried at Gudu Cemetery in Abuja on Saturday.
Nigerians voiced out on social media as the attendees of the burial failed to maintain protocols of the NCDC in the burial of COVID-19 patients.
