An Indian family in the United Arab Emirates had to bid their final goodbye to their cancer-stricken teenager son through the live-streaming feature of Facebook. It was because they couldn't obtain the permission to fly along with his body to their native state of Kerala in India due to travel restrictions amid the coronavirus outbreak, Gulf News reports.
India was one of the first countries to impose heavy travel restrictions with the outbreak of coronavirus in China, eventually putting a blanket ban on domestic and international flights, extending it further till 3 May along with nationwide lockdown.
Jeuel G. Jomay, 15, was suffering from cancer for seven years but lost the battle to the disease just a day before turning 16 on Good Friday, 11 April. The 10th-grade student was studying in Sharjah and was getting treatment for his illness in the American Hospital in Dubai, where he took his last breath.
The family was seeking approval from the authorities for days to send the mortal remains of Jomay to their hometown in India’s Kerala state. They finally found permission to send the body on a cargo plane on Wednesday, 15 April. However, the family wasn’t allowed to fly along.
Jeuel’s cousin told Gulf News that in Kerala, as well, they had to obtain special permission to conduct a funeral service in the Church in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district due to social distancing norms and the lockdown..
The body was flown back to Kerala because the family wanted the teenager to be laid to rest in their hometown and homeland.
His five-hour-long funeral service, along with prayers and ceremonies at the local church, were live-streamed to Jomay's family through Facebook, while St. Mary’s Church in Sharjah live-streamed it via YouTube on its website for its members to pay respect.
India has been living under a strict lockdown since 25 March, which was extended recently by Prime Minister Narendra Modi till 3 May due to the surging number of coronavirus cases. The country has over 13,000 COVID-19 confirmed cases and witnessed 437 deaths, according to official data, while over 1,700 people have recovered.
