The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has apologised for certain errors made during the burial of late chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Abba Kyari
Mr Kyari, who died from complications of COVID-19 on Friday, was buried at Gudu Cemetery in Abuja on Saturday.
There were debates all over social media and in street corners regarding the flouting of the social distancing and adequate protection rule, by many of those who attended the funeral.
However, the national coordinator of the task force, Mr Sani Aliyu, in his speech on Monday, apologised on behalf of the PTF, admitting that there should have been better crowd at the burial.
Mr Aliyu said: “The PTF will like to acknowledge and apologise for the mistakes that were made regarding the burial of the late Chief of Staff.
“We realised that crowd control failed, we have learned from this and we will ensure that future events are adequately regulated and follow the task force’s protocols.
“The Gudu Cemetery had since been decontaminated, the personal protective equipment discarded at the site; decontaminated being burned and discarded according to the NCDC guidelines.
“I’ll like to further clarify the issue of COVID-19 and the burial processes. Contrary to what is on social media, the body of the late Chief of Staff was properly prepared for burial, according to NCDC guidelines and the Islamic faith.
“The bodies of persons with COVID-19, as stated clearly by the WHO guidelines except in cases of viral haemorrhagic fever and cholera, dead bodies are generally not infectious. To date, there’s no evidence of persons having become infected from exposure to the bodies of persons who had died of COVID-19.”
Earlier on at the briefing, the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha apologised over violations that took place during the burial of the late Chief of Staff.
Mr Mustapha who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation said it is regrettable that social distancing was not observed during the burial.
“The PTF recognises, regrettably, the unintentional violation of the principles and protocols that form the core of our message to Nigerians at the funeral of the late chief of staff,” the SGF said.