Page 14 - COVID-19 Guidelines English

1 If a family member dies of COVID-19 at home, what do we need to do?
WHERE CAN WE gET ASSISTANCE?
The regulations dictate that in the event that a person infected with COVID-19 dies at home, family members must not, at any stage, handle the body. An Emergency Medical Service (EMS) must be called immediately to con rm death before removal by an undertaker.
Contact your closest EMS and they must be advised that the person who has passed away had COVID-19.
Do not touch the body at all. Clothing can only be touched by someone wearing gloves and then the garments must be disinfected with a substance containing 70% alcohol.
These are among the rules gazetted by the Department of Health and signed off by Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize.
The rules also dictate how bodies should be handled when being moved to mortuaries as recently deceased bodies can still expel air from the lungs when being moved – posing a risk of COVID-19 spread even after death.
Clothing and other fabric belongings of
the deceased should be machine-washed with warm water at 60-90°C and laundry detergent. If machine washing is not possible, linens can be soaked in hot water and soap in a large drum using a stick to stir and being careful to avoid splashing. The drum should then be emptied, and the linens soaked in 0.05% chlorine for approximately 30 minutes. Finally, the laundry should be rinsed with clean water and the linens should be allowed to dry in full sunlight.
This is to reduce the chances of the Coronavirus spreading to other members of the household.
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