Health Ministry Proposes Autopsies for Individuals Who Died from Coronavirus

The Health Ministry has submitted a draft amendment to the law on "Medical Assistance and Service to the Population" for public discussion on the unified platform for the publication of legal acts. The proposal suggests conducting autopsies for individuals who died as a result of coronavirus.

The draft states that in the past year, forensic examinations have revealed that the infectiousness of the coronavirus presents such a level of danger that it can be mitigated by using personal protective equipment during autopsies and implementing appropriate sanitary and epidemiological measures. As a result, there is a necessity to remove the requirement from the law that prohibits performing pathological autopsies in cases of death due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

It is also noted that until now, the Ministry had reported deaths from coronavirus without conducting autopsies, indicating that the individuals had either died from the virus or had accompanying health conditions.