Access to government mortuaries blocked

The National, Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) said on Wednesday that no dead bodies will be allowed in or out of government mortuaries as their members embark on a national strike.

The Witness was reliably informed by various sources that there was a plan to transport bodies to Howick and Richmond mortuaries.

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Sources said earlier this week that Howick and Richmond mortuaries were open and that police had arranged for mortuary managers to accommodate some of the bodies.

However, Nehawu heard about this and have since shut down the two mortuaries.

Nehawu secretary in the Harry Gwala region Mazwi Ngubane said both Richmond and Howick mortuaries have been closed and no other mortuaries are open in the region.

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The situation at Fort Napier mortuary is extremely bad. Some of the bodies are decomposing. Funerals will have to be postponed
Ngubane said they allowed three bodies to be taken out of Grey’s Hospital on Wednesday since they were being taken to private mortuaries around Pietermaritzburg. Asked to comment, KZN police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said they had not experienced any issues.

Police are trained to deal with all crisis situations and will assist wherever there is a need.
Sources from two local mortuaries who asked not to be named said the situation was getting worse and if the strike continued, there would be more backlogs.

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They said there have been people calling for their assistance to fetch and accept bodies but there was nothing they could do.