BHUBANESWAR: Faced with severe criticism for not acknowledging hundreds of Covid related deaths, the Odisha government seems to have been caught on the wrong foot after the Centre asked states to issue death documents to the kin of Covid victims for ex-gratia as directed by the Supreme Court.
As per the guidelines issued by the Centre, Covid-19 cases that have been diagnosed through RT-PCR test, molecular test, rapid-antigen test or clinically determined through investigations at a hospital or in-patient facility by a treating physician, while admitted at the hospital or in-patient facility, would be considered for the death document. Deaths due to accident will not be considered even if Covid is an accompanying condition but the families of persons who committed suicide within 30 days of testing positive would be eligible for financial assistance under the Disaster Management Act.
As the guidelines made it clear that deaths occurring within 30 days from the date of testing positive or from the date of being clinically determined as a Covid-19 case will be treated as Covid deaths even if the death takes place outside the hospital or in-patient facility, the number of fatalities is expected to increase in the State.
The Centre has also directed that Covid cases which are not resolved and have died either in hospital settings or at home and where a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) has been issued to the registering authority will be treated as a Covid-19 death. In cases where MCCD is not available or the next of kin of the deceased is not satisfied with the cause of death given in the certificate, the states will have to notify a committee at the district level to take a final call.
Although the Health and Family Welfare department has asked all Collectors and Municipal Commissioners to constitute committees for issuance of official documents for Covid-19 death, it lacks clarity. Health experts said several hundred deaths occurring in rural areas of the State have not been recorded as Covid deaths as the patients could not be tested on time due to lack of testing facilities.
“How will the committee verify such deaths if families apply for death documents? The letter to districts for constitution of committees also does not clarify whether deaths due to comorbidities whose declaration was stopped after August 2020 will be counted as Covid deaths. The State should come out clear on this,” they demanded. Under pressure from various quarters, Odisha has so far declared 8,227 Covid deaths while more than half of it termed as ‘deaths other than Covid’ have not been announced officially.
While in-Charge Additional Chief Secretary of Health RK Sharma did not respond to calls from TNIE, a senior health official said people can submit their grievances to the district-level committee, which will resolve the issues in consultation with the treating hospitals. The National Disaster Management Authority has recommended an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 to the next of kin of the deceased by Covid-19.