As Covid fatalities hit 3,000-mark, more committees formed to ‘study’ deaths

With the number of deaths touching the 3,000-mark in the state, the government is still struggling to study reasons behind Covid mortalities and continues to form more committees.
A BBMP worker on sanitation duty on JC Road in Bengaluru | Shriram BN
A BBMP worker on sanitation duty on JC Road in Bengaluru | Shriram BN

BENGALURU: With the number of deaths touching the 3,000-mark in the state, the government is still struggling to study reasons behind Covid mortalities and continues to form more committees. The latest is the one ordered by Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar to study the spike in deaths at the ESI Hospital in Rajajinagar, Bengaluru. He made the announcement after visiting the government facility on Saturday. 

Earlier this month, Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan had ordered another committee to study pandemic-linked deaths specifically in Bengaluru and to find out reasons behind the spike in toll.
Already, a state-level Death Audit Committee, headed by Dr S Sacchidanand, Vice-Chancellor, RGUHS, and a member of Covid 19 taskforce, exists since April. Till July, the committee had audited only 80 deaths, which accounted for just 16 per cent of total deaths till then.

“There are more committees now, but very little work seems to be happening. The state death audit committee wants every district to have its own committee as they feel the burden on them is high. If this is the case then who’s collating the data? Who are the experts? Till now, only about 90-100 deaths out deaths have been studied,” said a senior doctor on the advisory committee to the state government.

Dr Sudhakar told the media, “Till now, 421 patients have been admitted to ESI Hospital out, Of them, 54 patients have died. The mortality rate is as high as 12.8% and there is a need to understand the reason behind these mortalities. The medical officer at the hospital said that more number of cancer patients are getting admitted into this hospital, adding to the number of deaths. Also, patients are coming to the hospital often at later stages of infection which is also a reason for the high mortality rate. However, the death audit has been ordered and the same will be submitted to the government.”

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