Kochi: BJP leader and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Alphons Kannanthanam has said that although his mother had suffered from COVID-19, her death was not caused by the disease. She had tested negative for COVID before she died, he said amid allegations that he brought her body to Kerala and buried it by not revealing that she had died of the disease caused by coronavirus.

Her body was brought home and buried after tests conducted after her death also showed her to be negative for COVID, he said. Anyone can examine the results of the tests conducted at AIIMS. 

COVID had affected many of his mother's internal organs, causing irreversible damages. That is what caused her death. She cannot be said to have died of a heart attack. Hence, it wouldn’t be technically wrong to say that she died of COVID, Kannanthanam said.

His mother died on June 10 at the AIIMS Hospital in Delhi while under treatment for COVID. The body was flown to Manimala in Kottayam and kept for public viewing. It was buried on June 14. 

Kannanthanam said although initially he did not want to respond to the allegations, he felt he should give an explanation to avoid people getting scared due to misunderstanding.

A person named Jomon Puthenpurakkal had alleged that Kannanthanam had first tried to hide that his mother’s death was caused by COVID and that he had revealed it later. 

There is a protocol that needs to be followed all over the country in the deaths caused by COVID. That protocol was not followed after the death of Kannanthanam’s mother, Jomon alleged.

According to experts, there is no ban on bringing bodies that have tested negative for COVID and burying them, provided all the procedures are carried out as per the protocol of the central government. 

There should be no cause for concern as there is no possibility of the COVID virus spreading from a dead body. Such people are also entitled to a dignified funeral as enshrined in the Constitution. The community should not carry unnecessary fear about those who die of COVID, retired forensic doctor Shirley Vasu told Manorama Online.