Performing the last rites in the times of coronavirus has become a real issue and the new challenge has added a new dimension to the battle being fought against Covid-19. Recently, the corpse of a corona positive patient in Jharkhand was denied burial in the local Ratu Road cemetery.

Throwing the social distance advisory in wind, at least 200 people gathered and protested outside the cemetery against the Ranchi district administration's decision to bury the body in the graveyard. They also demanded that the corpse be buried somewhere else.

The protesters claimed that corona infection can spread if the body is buried at the cemetery. They were worried that the rats may carry the virus to the households. The patient had died on Sunday morning.

While the officials tried to convince people that the dead body would be buried as per the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization, the crowd dispersed only after it was assured that the body will not be buried there.

(With inputs from Mritunjay Srivastava in Ranchi)