The Kisumu government has given notice to families to collect 69 bodies lying in morgues within the county.
If the families fail to collect the bodies, they will be buried in a mass grave on Friday this week.
This is one of the measures the county is taking to curb the spread of Covid-19 as infections in the county and region surge.
Edris Omondi, the county attorney, said despite numerous notices, the bodies are still lying unclaimed and uncollected at various health facilities within the county.
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital has 51 bodies, Kisumu District 16 and Port Florence Hospital two.
"Take note that we have processed in court the 69 bodies lying unclaimed and uncollected within various health facilities. The said bodies shall be buried by the county government of Kisumu on Friday without fail if left uncollected," Omondi said.
Apart from the 69 bodies, he said, relatives of nine other bodies cannot be traced or contacted. The nine bodies have stayed in mortuaries for an extended period of time.
The county government released the names of nine contacts or family members who they were unable to reach. "This is to notify members of the public to help trace the kin or contact persons of the nine bodies because the contacts provided cannot be reached. The bodies are lying at Kisumu District Hospital."
"Anybody with information of relatives is advised to inform them to collect the bodies for burial with immediate effect, failing which the bodies will be buried by the county government immediately we conclude the necessary legal requirements."
Earlier this month, the county threatened to move to court to have unclaimed bodies buried in mass graves.
Health executive Boaz Nyunya said, "We have established that the prolonged stay of bodies in the mortuaries leads to abuse of burial protocols, eventually making it difficult to control the number of mourners attending such ceremonies".
As stated earlier, bodies must be released from the mortuaries by 10am, within 48 hours of the death and must be buried the same day.
Nyunya said mortuaries are under instructions not to accept bodies brought in from outside their premises, except in police cases.
