Duncan's body must be wrapped in a plastic shroud and should not be washed. The protocol calls for it to be placed into a zippered leak-proof plastic bag and then into a second bag. The bags and the room will then be disinfected.
The driver who takes the body to the mortuary does not need to wear the protective gear, but the mortuary workers should. The body should be either cremated or placed into a hermetically sealed casket — at which point the remains are deemed safe enough for a funeral. The CDC gave these instructions and guidelines. Unlike Patrick Sawyer, Nigeria's index patient, we were told that he was cremated immediately.
What happened next will shock you as Sawyer's mom now demanded her son's ashes be bought back to Liberia. The Governor of Lagos state Nigeria reportedly said NO! The infection is still active when an Ebola or HIV patient dies and why will we be transporting the virus even further. The dignity is somehow lost along the way and it is very sad for the families. Sawyer deliberately spread Ebola so there was a lot of stigma attached to him.
