Villagers protest burial of COVID-19 victim in their land

An attempt by a family to bury the remains of their daughter who died of coronavirus has been fiercel resisted by villagers in two different communities.

The victim, a retired doctor was to be buried in a family vault in the village of Shubra al-Bahou, though she died in her home in Daqahliya north of Cairo, both of Egypt.

But the villagers in their dozens would have none of that, based on their fears of the spread of the virus should the 65-year-old be interred there.

Police had to come, arrested a dozen people and fired tear gas.

The woman’s family were turned back from another nearby cemetery before returning to Shubra al-Bahou.

Security forces then dispersed an angry crowd with teargas, making 12 arrests, before the woman was buried.

Last month Egyptian authorities placed 300 families under quarantine in a village in Daqahliya governorate after a 72-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man died from the new coronavirus.

At the time Health Minister Hala Zayed said the measure was to allow sterilisation procedures to prevent more infections in the village, which she did not name.

So far, Egypt has confirmed 1,794 COVID-19 cases and 135 deaths.

The Egyptian Medical Syndicate said on Saturday three doctors have died from the illness but that only one of them contracted it at work.

According to the AFP, another 43 doctors have been infected by the virus, the union said in a statement.