CDC Issues Postmortem Coronavirus Guidance

NFDA has just received a document from the CDC outlining guidance for handling individuals who have died or are suspected to have died from COVID-19 (coronavirus).
While the guidance focuses on collecting specimens and conducting autopsies for PUI, the CDC notes, “The guidance can be utilized by medical examiners, coroners, pathologists, [and] other workers involved in postmortem care.” (PUI refers to persons under investigation for coronavirus.)

Any funeral home staff coming in contact with a decedent with confirmed or suspected coronavirus will want to pay particular attention to the section titled “Autopsy Procedures,” which would most closely apply to embalming. This section includes guidance on safe work practices, engineering controls and PPE usage.

Funeral directors will also want to review the section “Cleaning and Waste Disposal Recommendations” for guidance on how to properly clean and disinfect their embalming room and instruments.

This guidance also contains contact information for the CDC’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The staff at the EOC is best equipped to answer questions about how funeral homes can safely care for an individual with confirmed or suspected coronavirus.

As part of NFDA’s ongoing commitment to you and our active involvement in federal mass-fatality management, we have been actively monitoring the situation surrounding the coronavirus. We have been receiving ongoing updates about the risk posed by this virus from Centers for Disease Control, Department of Health and Human Services, the White House and others. We have been asking for guidance like this from the very beginning and are pleased to finally be able to share it with you.