Covid-19 Survival Reduces With Time in Dead Body, But No Time Limit to Declare it Non-Infective, Says ICMR

The Indian Council of Medical Research said on Tuesday that the survival of the coronavirus in a dead body gradually decreases with time, according to scientific studies conducted on the matter, PTI reported. However, no specific duration has been established till now following which a body can be declared “non-infective”, it added.

The council made its observations in a report called ‘Standard guidelines for Medico-legal autopsy in Covid-19 deaths in India 2020’, which was released on Tuesday. In the report, the medical body answered some of the frequently asked questions about the treatment of bodies of those who died of the infection.

On the protocol to be followed for performing an autopsy on a Covid-19 suspected body with a negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR result, ICMR said that considering the relatively high rate of false negative results in the testing technique, professionals are advised to treat every patient as a potential case of the coronavirus.