A councilor from the Okahandja municipality, Asser Aupindi, says that the situation at the local mortuary is out of control. Aupindi could not believe at the sight that had awaited him when he paid the facility a visit.
“Yesterday morning[Monday], I took the opportunity to go and see whether the situation at our mortuary was really true. After hearing that someone had passed away last Wednesday in Okahandja and could not be assisted by the medical staff at the hospital.”
Aupindi explained that he contacted the hospital in order to assess what the situation is at the state facility in the garden town.
“I was shocked to see that the mortuary facility in our town is full to capacity! There were bodies lying on the floor!” Aupindi exclaimed.
He added that what happened to the young woman who lost her father last week, who made media headlines where she had to transport his body on the back of a pick-up truck.
“She was told there was no space at the hospital, after she was told on the phone that no one would be able to come collect her father’s body. Now, why did they not say this before she made all the effort to bring the body to the hospital?” he noted.
The young woman had to also buy ice packs to keep the body cool while they were made to wait.
The councillor says he had been shocked to his core to see how people are being treated.
The councillor notes that an urgent meeting had been called for by the town to assess what can be done to assist the public when they have deceased family members that need to be collected during Covid.
“The situation is such that only two people come out to collect the bodies of people in the town. The driver and the mortuary assistant. The driver does not want to assist for his own safety, and so, the mortuary assistant has to single-handedly place the body in the white covering, pick it up, and load it himself. One guy, who has to carry the bodies over his shoulder!” Aupindi stated.
In the meantime, Aupindi says that a container had been purchased and converted into a makeshift mortuary storage unit to alleviate the pressure on the town’s facility.
“We are thinking of acquiring more containers for this use to further anticipate that space would be required,” he added.
