Burial of people dying of infectious diseases
At the beginning of the Corona outbreak I could see the deceased being buried by the City Council instead of relatives transporting the dead bodies to their home villages for burial as is the custom for many tribes in Tanzania. Is there any law that bars transportation of the dead bodies of people who died of infectious diseases such as Corona and Marburg virus?
TE, Mwanza
Legally transportation and burial of a dead body requires a permit from the Local Government Authority though many people don’t obey that law. However, where the deceased died of infectious diseases like Marburg or Corona virus, rule 35 of the Public Health (Waste and Human Remains Management) Regulations, 2018 strictly prohibits issuance of permits to transport or bury dead bodies of people who died of such notifiable infectious diseases. The purpose of this prohibition is to control the spread of such notifiable infectious diseases.
We understand sometimes the Government may decide to relax the law depending on the recommendation of the health experts but as a general rule, relatives are not allowed to bury or transport the bodies of people who are confirmed to have died of the infectious diseases unless there is a permission issued by the Local Authority health experts.