Yeji residents steal dead body of suspected coronavirus patient

Some residents of Kojo Boffour, a neighbouring community at Yeji in the Bono East Region allegedly attacked workers of St. Mathias Catholic Hospital.

The aggrieved resident went to the hospital's mortuary and removed the remains of a person suspected to have died from COVID-19.

Rev. Father Kojo Adjei Buadu, a management member of the hospital, in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM narrating the story said "There was an issue concerning a body that was brought in here. Initially, the person had been brought to the hospital and it was suspected that he had COVID-19 and so a sample of him was taken to Kumasi.

"The family vehemently disagreed to allow the person to be isolated and so they sent the person home and later on, it happened that he passed on and was brought to the hospital mortuary without the notice of management."

"Later on, when we found out, we made sure that all the protocols were followed. We actually spoke to the family so that they will allow the COVID protocols to be followed. But they insisted that they wouldn't agree. All of a sudden, we noticed that on Friday, the youth came to the hospital around 4 pm, beat the security men on duty, broke into the mortuary, and took the body for burial," he added.

He is, therefore, calling on the law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators to serve as a deterrent to others in the community.

"This has come about not because we want to punish the people, but to bring the perpetrators to book," he noted.