Indians in protective clothing burn the bodies of family members who died of the disease on the banks of the Ganges River on May 5, 2021.
The outbreak in India continues to worsen, with the bodies of dozens of people thought to have died from COVID-19 washed up on the banks of the Ganges River in the north, local officials said Monday (May 10). The outbreak has now spread rapidly into the rural hinterland, overwhelming local sanitation facilities, crematoriums and cemeteries.
AFP reports that local official Ashok Kumar said about forty bodies have washed ashore in the Buxar area near the border between the impoverished Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Kumar told AFP, “We have instructed the officials concerned to dispose of all the bodies and bury or cremate them.”
Some media reports said the number of bodies could be as high as 100.
Some of the bodies were swollen, some could be seen to have been burned, and the bodies may have been in the river for several days, the reports said, citing other officials.
Locals told AFP they believe the bodies were dumped in the river because the crematorium was overwhelmed or because relatives could not afford firewood for cremation.
Kameshwar Pandey, a local resident, told AFP, “It really shocked us.”
The Tribune (India) reported that it is thought the bodies may be those of people who died of COVID-19 illness and were then dumped in the river by grieving relatives.
“Cremation requires wood and other materials.” A local man said the supply of these items has been hit by the blockade.
He added that some families have been forced to abandon “the remains of their loved ones in the river.”
But Kumar said officials have not confirmed that the bodies were victims of COVID-19. “We cannot confirm whether the deceased were indeed COVID-19 positive. These bodies have started decomposing.” Kumar told the Indian newspaper Tribune.
“But we are taking all precautions while ensuring that (the bodies) are disposed of in a decent manner,” he told The Tribune.
A local official said orders have been issued to dispose of all bodies through cremation or burial.
According to official statistics, about 4,000 people are currently dying from the CCP virus (New Coronavirus) every day in India, with a total death toll of nearly 250,000.
Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead for COVID-19 (Chinese communist virus, coronavirus), said Monday that preliminary studies have found that the Indian B.1.617 virus variant is more easily transmitted than the original virus, and there is some evidence that the variant may be able to evade vaccines.
“We classify the Indian B.1.617 virus variant as a variant of concern at the global level,” she said in a news release.
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