HCMC – The HCMC Military Command will launch an investigation into a case in which a truck reportedly transported the bodies of 46 people, including 41 Covid-19 patients, from HCMC to the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre for cremation.
On August 16, Ngo Van Tan, director of the Ben Tre Department of Health, said the province had been informed of the case, the local media reported.
Accordingly, from August 15 to 16, Le Phuc Hau, a resident of Vinh Long Province’s Long Ho District, drove a truck carrying the 46 bodies to the Phuc Lac Vien Crematorium in Ben Tre.
When the case was detected, the crematorium had cremated the bodies of 18 people, so the competent agencies allowed it to cremate the remaining bodies.
Tan said the transport of the bodies of Covid-19 patients without being reported to the local authorities went against anti-pandemic regulations in the Ministry of Health’s Decision 5188/QD-BYT controlling the transmission of Covid-19 at medical centers.
In addition, Hau used a non-specialized vehicle to transport the bodies, violating regulations on the handling of bodies, while the southern localities are practicing social distancing under the prime minister’s Directive 16.
The HCMC Military Command had earlier been assigned to cremate the bodies of Covid-19 patients. It has established seven teams and directed the Military Commands of Thu Duc City and districts to receive and cremate the bodies of Covid-19-related deaths and hand over the remains of these patients to their families.
It is also responsible for ensuring security and order in the Binh Hung Hoa Crematorium area.
Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Binh, deputy head of the HCMC Police Department’s Road and Railway Traffic Police Division, said 12 checkpoints at the city’s gateways were still operating in line with the prime minister’s document 1015/TTg-CN, allowing vehicles with QR codes to pass through without stopping them for inspections.
