A probe committee formed by the Stanley Medical Hospital has ruled out the body of COVID-19 patient having been left lying on a ward bed for several hours, said a top hospital official.

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The committee said the photograph that got circulated in the social media must have been taken when the body was about to be shifted to the mortuary and the surrounding screen were removed. "An inquiry committee was appointed and it concluded that the body was not left on the COVID-19 ward bed for eight hours. The body was kept out of sight for others by putting a screen around the bed," the Dean told IANS.

A picture of a packed dead body on a bed next to another bed occupied by a patient went viral on the social media on June 16, prompting a probe. The five member probe team was headed by T.Sivakumar, Head of the Department, Department of General Surgery. The report said a 65-year-old male was admitted on June 13 and died on June 15 at 8 a.m. The death was certified and a screen was put around the bed on which the body was lying.

The body was packed as per COVID-19 norms and the papers were sent to an official for obtaining release order to send the body to the mortuary. "The above formalities and shifting to mortuary took another hour and the patient was shifted to mortuary by 10 a.m. on June 15, the whole event took 2 hours," the report said. "The photograph should have been taken when the body was about to be shifted to the mortuary when the surrounding screen was removed for shifting," the report said. According to the committee report, as per the guidelines for safe disposal of COVID-19 body, the corporation official was informed.

"The body is usually taken from the hospital once the time slot for burial is fixed. The patient's relatives were also informed about the death. The corporation inspector, after fixing time and place of burial and making necessary arrangements as per Government norms took the body by ambulance from the mortuary by 5.30 p.m. on June 15," the probe report said.