THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The health department is unlikely to carry out a state-wide retrospective auditing of Covid deaths even after reports have appeared that the names of over 6,300 people, whose deaths have been certified as due to the pandemic, are missing from the state’s official list. Health activists have been campaigning for retrospective auditing after the Supreme Court directed the Central and state governments to provide compensation to the kin of Covid victims.
According to the data with the registrar of births and deaths, the deaths of these many people have also been certified as because of Covid, besides the official toll of 14,380. The mismatch happened as the state panel that used to review Covid deaths refused to recognise all such deaths certified by local doctors. The local bodies concerned, however, accept the data provided by the doctors.According to health activists, the actual death toll could be two to three times the official numbers. “I have not seen the report on the mismatch. The department is checking if there were any reasons for omitting persons in the district lists from the state list,” said an officer.