NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has issued new guidelines for handling the bodies of those who died due to the coronavirus, saying that no sample would be drawn for a COVID-19 test from a patient after death, even as the number of positive cases in the city crossed 10,000-mark on Monday.
Revising the previous order issued in March, the government released the guidelines on Sunday that states “no sample for COVID-19 test will be taken of a dead body”.It, however, said if doctors are satisfied by clinical examination that the cause of death could be COVID-19, the body may be released as a suspected case of coronavirus.
Apart from this, the new guideline also mentions three requirements to identify an individual as a COVID-19 fatality — the person tested positive before the death, the positive test was based on a sample taken when the person was alive and that the individual was admitted to a hospital with severe symptoms of the COVID-19 or doctors categorised that the person as a COVID-19 suspect.
The new order elaborates that the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in four categories — if death occurred at a hospital or COVID-19 positive patient is brought dead; if death occurred at a COVID care centre, a COVID health centre or a COVID testing centre of COVID positive person; if death occurred outside a health care facility of a COVID-19 positive person at home; and if unclaimed or otherwise a body found at a public place.
State Health Secretary Padmini Singla, who has issued the order, could not be reached despite several attempts. The new order came at a time when the AAP government is being questioned for allegedly
fudging with the total deaths in the city.
In the past one week, the death toll has climbed to 160.As of Monday noon, the number of COVID-19 cases in Delhi reached to 10,054.The number of new cases recorded in the past 24 hours, however, came down to 299. The state had registered 400 plus cases for consecutive four days.
Spike in death toll after adding cumulative figures
The coronavirus death toll in Delhi mounted to 160, while the total number of COVID-19 cases in the national capital crossed the 10,000-mark on Monday, authorities said. As many as 299 fresh cases were recorded while the total number of active cases stood at 5,409. In a bulletin issued on Monday, the Delhi health department said, the death toll from coronavirus infection has risen to 160, and the total number of cases has climbed to 10,054. On Sunday, the death tally stood at 148