Wrong COVID-19 victim buried after mix-up at Charity morgue
The Charity mortuary where the unfortunate mix-up occurred
The Charity mortuary where the unfortunate mix-up occurred

DAYS after a funeral a funeral service for Bibi Shazeedh Jalleal, who had succumbed to COVID-19, her family was left in shock after realising that they had buried the wrong body, owing to a mix-up at the Charity Hospital morgue. On Friday, relatives were in the middle of preparing for a religious function at the Queenstown Masjid, Region Two, in Jalleal’s memory, when a staff of the morgue called to inform them that the woman’s body was still awaiting burial. The Basir family, who took care of the elderly woman prior to her death, buried a body according to Muslim rites on Sunday. In keeping with the advice given by the morgue staff, the body was not viewed at the morgue or prior to the burial.
Following the telephone call, it became clear that the family had buried another COVID-19 victim, Reynold James of Lot 41 Charity, instead of the 87-year-old Little Alliance resident.
The Guyana Chronicle was told that the pensioner died at the Suddie Public Hospital on June 5 and was transported to the Charity morgue the following day.

According to reports, her body was left in the COVID-19 ward for several hours before it was removed. Members of the Basir family went to uplift her remains on Sunday from the morgue. While the body was being handed over they were told not to not to open the sealed coffin. The family followed the instruction and buried the body at Queenstown.
“We didn’t know. We followed the instructions and we gave our relative a grand send-off but because of the cause of death, we were advised not to open [the coffin] so we did not know,” one of the shocked relatives related. Meanwhile, James’ relatives, who also reside in the Charity area, were in disbelief when this newspaper made contact with them on Friday. They were, at the time, finalising arrangements for the man’s funeral. Having learnt of the unfortunate incident, Commander of Region Two, Crystal Robinson, met with both families, and a mutual understanding was reached. James’ body will not be exhumed since his death was as result of COVID-19 and it was deemed unsafe to take such action. Instead, James’ relatives will perform a prayer service with a pastor at the location where he is buried, while the Basir family will collect the pensioner’s remains and conduct a prayer and burial service.
Both families are calling on parlour officials to ensure that bodies are properly tagged when transported to the morgue so as to avoid mix-ups in the future.

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