BHUBANESWAR: Facing backlash for under-reporting of Covid fatalities, Odisha recorded 641 deaths in the first half of June as 44 more were added in last 24 hours. The new cases, however, came down to 3,535 during the period as tests dipped in the State. According to Health department, the 44 fatalities were reported from 18 districts. Among the deceased, aged 24 to 84 years, five were women and 28 without comorbidities.
At an average of 42 deaths a day, the case fatality rate (CFR) in the month rose to 0.7 per cent (pc) from overall 0.2 pc recorded so far during the second wave of the pandemic. The CFR is more than one pc for the last four days as the fatalities went up when the infections are on the decline. Khurda, Sundargarh, Cuttack, Puri, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Angul, Balasore and Sambalpur registered more deaths during the period. With this, the death toll soared to 3,432.
Reiterating that the fatality figures reflected now is due to the delay in audit of death related documents, Additional Chief Secretary of Health PK Mohapatra said the districts have been directed to clear all the backlogs by end of this month. Asked whether there is any chance of Odisha releasing backlog deaths like other states, he said all Covid related deaths that took place during the first wave were cleared by December and death certificates issued.
“As decided, every death in Covid facilities and reported by private hospitals is being audited minutely. Starting from the bed tickets to diagnostics reports and treatment documents, everything is being checked by the district and state-level committees.
There may be delay in audit due to workload, but all deaths will be recorded,” he clarified. Of the 3,535 fresh cases, 2,016 were reported from quarantine and the remaining 1,519 were local contacts. The caseload has come down below 4,000 for the second consecutive day after mid-April, bringing down the active cases to 42,217.
Fatality rate