THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The number of Covid deaths in the state is set to jump by 7,000 as the government has decided to include those previously excluded for various reasons. The decision would take the total toll close to 33,000 from the existing 25,952 deaths reported till October 7. The announcement was made by health minister Veena George in the assembly when the opposition demanded an adjournment motion on Friday to discuss the 'under-reporting' of Covid deaths and the 'weak' pandemic strategy of the government. They later boycotted the assembly to protest against denial of the adjournment motion.
The health minister said around 7000 deaths which were not included in the list due to absence of documents would be added. These happened in the 14 months since the first Covid death in the state in March 2020 till June 2021 when the department introduced a better reporting system. “There was no deliberate attempt to exclude the deaths from the list. The process of registration was done based on the guidelines of ICMR. The department took the initiative to include the excluded cases in the list,” said Veena George.
The minister had announced that the department would publish the updated list in three days in the last assembly session. But there was no update from her till the other day. MLA PC Vishnunadh who moved the adjournment motion and later leader of opposition VD Satheesan pointed out the delay on the part of the minister. They also pointed out that the undercounting would be much more than previously estimated considering the documents accessed through right to information and media reports.
The opposition has long been asking the government to bring in transparency in death reporting and rectify the undercounting. In the face of public pressure, the government decentralised death reporting and introduced a portal to make death registration easier and accessible from June 14.
The recent Supreme Court verdict to provide compensation of Rs 50,000 to families of victims who died of Covid has led to more families demanding deaths to be declared as due to Covid. Following the verdict, the state government has modified the guidelines and also announced an online service to avail Covid death certificates. It will also help families of victims excluded from the official death list to get a Covid death certificate and avail the compensation announced.
The government has made issuance of Covid death certificates easier with the help of an online service. It has published the Covid death list on its e-health death information website (https://covid19.kerala.gov.in/deathinfo/). The public can verify the name of the deceased in the list and file an application online if there are exclusions. It has also set up a Covid Death Assessment Committee (CDAC) in each district to decide on Covid deaths as per the new guidelines.