Communicable Disease Control Act Article 50

The medical institutions caring for patients with communicable diseases or the respective local competent authorities shall conduct disinfection and other appropriate management of the remains of deceased individuals confirmed or suspected to have died from communicable diseases. Families of the deceased and funeral service providers shall not refuse, evade or obstruct relevant procedures.For the remains mentioned in the preceding Paragraph, the central competent authority, may perform a pathological autopsy if it is deemed necessary to understand the pathological causes of communicable diseases or to control epidemic conditions; families of the deceased shall not refuse.For deaths suspected to be caused by immunization, a pathological autopsy may be required when the central competent authority deems it necessary to determine the cause of death and the autopsy result may influence the overall outcome of disease control efforts.Families of the deceased shall place corpses into coffins and conduct cremation of remains within 24 hours when infection with Category 1 communicable diseases is confirmed; remains that have been infected with Category 5 communicable diseases must be cremated within the timeframe announced by the central competent authority; remains of persons known to have died from other communicable diseases, if they cannot be cremated for special reasons, shall be reported to the local competent authorities for permission for deep burial according to relevant regulations.For remains examined by a pathological autopsy as mentioned in Paragraph 2, the central competent authority shall decide the criteria for subsidizing funeral costs.