Thursday, September 18, 2025

States issue special rules for disposing of bodies of virus victims

Although the federal Health Ministry announced that the bodies of those who have died from Covid-19 cannot spread the virus after having been disinfected, many states are setting their own varying regulations on how to process the remains of victims of the global pandemic.

Three weeks after Mexico recorded its first death from Covid-19, the virus is changing how Mexicans physically process death.

Hidalgo has some of the strictest regulations in the country, mandating that cadavers be put into sanitary biodegradable bags clearly labeled as biohazards and that they be buried in coffins that are resistant to pressure caused by gas.

Health workers in México state who come into contact with a Covid-19 cadaver will be equipped with a hermetically sealed disposable biohazard suit with goggles and an N-95 face mask. They will have to follow a strict hygiene protocol and completely clean and sanitize all areas and equipment used to deal with the remains.

The Tabasco state Health Ministry prohibits citizens from holding wakes in their homes and mandated that cadavers be cremated in sealed coffins within 12 hours of death. San Luis Potosí enacted a similar measure with a 24-hour postmortem period.

Authorities in Coahuila ordered that all funerals be limited to 10 people.

The federal Health Ministry said that a properly disinfected Covid-19 cadaver “poses no risk” and that the preferable way to dispose of one is cremation, but interment also acceptable. All ceremonies can follow traditional customs.

In expectation of the worst of the pandemic still to come, the hospital systems of the National Autonomous University (UNAM) and the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) began withdrawing medical interns from hospitals across the country on Monday to safeguard personnel.

Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell warned the public in late March that phase three of local transmission, in which the rate of contagion is highest, would come in April.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.

Fed rate cut sends peso to strongest level vs. dollar in more than a year

0
Wednesday's closing rate of 18.32 pesos per dollar represented a 0.2% gain from Monday's session, capping the peso's eighth consecutive day of strengthening against the greenback.
sacks of drugs

US names Mexico among 23 principal drug-producing countries while praising its anti-cartel crackdown

6
Mexico's inclusion was hardly a surprise, but it was noteworthy that the Trump administration praised the Sheinbaum administration for its increasing cooperation.
Guiengola, Oaxaca

Biologists work to turn Oaxaca’s Guiengola archaeological zone into nature reserve

1
Led by 23-year-old biologist Eduardo Michi, a group of scientists has deployed camera traps across more than 300 hectares to document local fauna like coatis, rabbits, squirrels and ocelots.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity