The state cabinet sub-committee formed on Tuesday to monitor plans to stem the novel coronavirus pandemic will discuss the formation of dedicated mortuaries and cremation land for Covid-19 death cases.

So far, two men from Jharkhand’s Ranchi and Bokaro districts have lost their lives to Covid-19. Till Wednesday, 28 persons were confirmed to be infected by coronavirus. Apart from the two casualties, there are 26 active coronavirus cases in Jharkhand at present.

State health minister Banna Gupta, who has been tasked to coordinate the sub-committee, told The Telegraph that the first meeting would be held on Thursday at the state secretariat in Nepal House and a final decision on setting up dedicated mortuaries and cremation sites for Covid-19 death cases will be taken then.

“The public opposition at Ratu graveyard over the burial of a Covid-19 positive patient was discussed at length at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. We are thinking of setting up special mortuaries in at least dedicated Covid-19 hospitals across the state for Covid-19 deaths. We are also planning to identify lands far from inhabited areas for cremation/burial of Covid-19 patients. However, the decision would be taken by the sub-committee on Thursday,” said Gupta.

After the sub-committee decides, a formal circular will be issued to DCs in the 24 districts to set up dedicated mortuary and identify suitable plots away from habitation.

Gupta apart, the cabinet sub-committee comprises finance minister Rameshwar Oraon, labour minister Satyanand Bhokta and transport minister Champai Soren.

“We do not want to create public unrest if a Covid-19 patient dies. It was disheartening to read in newspapers that the body of the Covid-19 patient in Ranchi was kept for hours in an ambulance instead of a mortuary. The aim is to have such special mortuaries in at least Covid-19-dedicated hospitals which would be at a small distance from the regular mortuary to avoid unrest among masses,” Gupta said.

On April 1, the state government notified two dedicated Covid-19 hospitals and 15 district-level Covid-19 exclusive hospitals.

The trauma centre at RIMS-Ranchi, which has 100-non ICU beds and 25 ICU beds with ventilator, is the state-dedicated Covid-19 hospital, along with Paras HEC Hospital, Dhurwa, Ranchi, which has a 55-non-ICU beds and five ICU beds with ventilators.

The 15 district-level Covid-19 hospitals have been notified at Ramgarh, Bokaro (two), Jamshedpur (two), Dhanbad, Deoghar, Garhwa, Koderma, Lohardaga, Hazaribagh (two), Dumka, Simdega and Gumla, with non-ICU bed capacity of 1,239 and ICU-bed (with ventilator) capacity of 200.