COVID-19: Andhra Medical College morgue shut, postmortems stopped

Visakhapatnam: Andhra Medical College’s mortuary in Vizag city has been temporarily closed after two post-graduate students at Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department tested positive for COVID 19.

Over five professors, four PG students, and 10 other staff, who had come in contact with two PG students, have been put under quarantine.

The PG students had conducted the post-mortem on over 40 bodies in the last one month. Despite wearing PPE and other safety equipment, they tested positive for the Covid-19. The contact persons of the students tested negative for the virus, but they were put under quarantine as a precautionary measure.

The principal of Andhra Medical College (AMC) PV Sudhakar said all the professors and staff of the forensic medicine department have been put under quarantine. “It is difficult to keep mortuary open. So we decided to close it temporarily,” he said.

Since morgue has been closed, no post-mortems would be conducted from Monday. The AMC officials have informed the police to shift the bodies to nearby government hospitals for the autopsy.

All the bodies have been shifted to King George Hospital’s morgue for completing the medico-legal formalities.

Experts said that it is a wakeup call for the administration and it should set up temporary morgues in all the districts of Andhra Pradesh.