Woman ‘Died Of Coronavirus’ Wakes Up From Coma After Family Receives Her ‘Ashes’

A woman who was declared dead due to complications from coronavirus last month was found to be alive. The incident took place in Ecuador, South America, on Thursday (April 23).

The woman, identified as 74-year-old Alba Maruri, was declared dead by a hospital in a case of mistaken identity. The hospital had informed the family that Maruri died on March 27 and asked them to identify a corpse at the hospital morgue. However, the family members were unable to get a clear look as they had to maintain a distance due to fears over the spread of the virus.

Maruri’s nephew, identified as Jaime Morla, had told health authorities that "he thought corpse was his aunt’s".

"I was afraid to see her face. I was a meter and a half away. She had the same hair, the same skin tone,” he said.

The body was taken away and cremated, after which, the ashes were sent to the family a week later.

The incident came to light after Maruri had regained consciousness on Thursday after being in a coma for three weeks and requested the hospital staff to contact her sister. According to local newspaper El Comercio, she was admitted last month after suffering from a high fever and breathing difficulties.

Her family members were overjoyed after hearing the news, however, they were unclear about the identity of the person whose ashes they had received.

According to Reuters, the woman’s sister, identified as Aura Maruri mentioned that an ambulance, along with a hospital team arrived at her place and apologized for the incident.

“An ambulance arrived with a doctor, a psychiatrist and the social worker. They apologized, and they tell us ‘Your sister is alive,’ and we were in shock,” said Aura.

“It is a miracle of God what has happened. For nearly a month we thought she was dead. Imagine. And I have someone else's ashes,” she added.

The family wanted the hospital to compensate them for the mix-up, and reimburse the cremation expenses which were covered by them.

According to Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos, the case was still under investigation.