Edhi Foundation has announced that it will be reopening morgues and giving ghusl to those who die from the coronavirus after its volunteers received the necessary training from experts in infectious diseases in order to avoid the spread of the virus.

In a video message, the head of the charity Faisal Edhi said that volunteers had received training from doctors of Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi led by infectious disease expert Dr Azizullah on how to give ghusl and deal with the bodies to avoid being infected with Covid-19.

The charity had recently closed its morgues in Karachi and other parts of the country as bodies of those who reportedly died due to Covid-19 were being brought there for ghusl and burial along with other bodies without informing volunteers or those working at the centres.

Spokesperson of the foundation Saad Edhi added that they also held talks with relevant authorities and received the standard operating procedure (SOP) for burial of such bodies to prevent the spread of the virus.

Edhi has three mortuaries in Karachi with one having the capacity for 150 bodies while two others have capacity of 30 bodies each.

The spokesperson said the charity also has mortuaries in 10 other major cities of the country.

In response to a question, he said that he had not received any information from the authorities for designating graveyards in Karachi for burial of the virus affected bodies. However, Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shallwani told Dawn that “we are prepared for any eventuality".