'If local doctors refuse to issue death certificate then the respective ward coordinator should inform me'

Kolkata: Chairman of Kolkata Municipal Corporation's Board of Administrator Firhad Hakim has asked its ward coordinators to ensure that there is no delay in performing the last rites of a deceased person in the city. The instructions came on a day when rapid test for quick identification of a Covid positive patient kicked off in the city from Chetla area.

"The ward coordinators along with the local police station will be more vigilant in ensuring that there is no delay in the last rites of a deceased person. If local doctors refuse to issue death certificate then the respective ward coordinator should inform me (Firhad Hakim for south Kolkata ) and Atin Ghosh (for north Kolkata) so that arrangements can be made in carrying the body to a hospital so that post-mortem can be carried out to ascertain the cause of death and death certificate issued accordingly so that the last rites can be performed," said Firhad Hakim, Chairman of KMC's Board of Administrators.

Hakim chaired a virtual meeting with ward coordinators, borough health executives in presence of KMC's nodal officer for COVID -19 Alapan Bandyopadhyay and senior officials of Kolkata Police and stressed upon strengthening co ordination between ward coordinators, police and local people .

In the last one week there have been more than one instances in the city when deceased persons' last rites have been delayed due to COVID stigma in the locality or other information gap.

The ward coordinators should also take up with the Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) to transport a person to a hospital or to a safe home or to a doctor in case of illness.

Hakim on Thursday supervised the rapid antigen test exercise for the traders of the local market at Ahindra Manch in Chetla. "We will come up with three such centres in each borough and conduct rapid tests twice a week in each of the centre. The aim is to detect super spreaders who are asymptomatic and may be resulting in the spread of the disease," said Hakim.

Sources said that 50 samples were tested through rapid kit among which 10 have tested positive.

"We have plans to have 2,000 tests per day through RT-PCR test and rapid test," Hakim said.