NEW DELHI: (THE) death of a 68-year-old woman from west Delhi is confirmed to have been caused due to co-morbidity (diabetes and hypertension). She also tested positive for COVID-19. The death of a 76-year-old man from Karnataka is confirmed to have been caused due to co-morbidity. He also tested positive for COVID-19. He visited Saudi Arabia from January 29, 2020, to February 29, 2020. He had a history of Hsion and Asthma.
This was what the Union health ministry said in separate press statements while announcing the two corona-linked deaths in the country so far. While the country is battling a public health emergency brought on by a deadly contagion, which has already been declared a global pandemic by the WHO, the Centre’s attempt to play down the corona linked deaths by stressing their previous underlying conditions and almost implying that the infection was only an incidental finding, has raised many eyebrows. “I would say this is sign of a government in panic rather than one ready to take a major public health crisis head-on,” said T Jacob John, a leading virologist with the Christian Medical College, Vellore.
To stress that these patients died of co-morbid conditions, he added, is akin to being in “complete denial which can be dangerous in the face of a health emergency situation”. “Fact is, even as the world over, as statistics show, mostly the elderly with co-morbidity are dying due to infection, the primary cause of their death is the viral infection. This should be clearly spelt out.”
Anant Bhan, a researcher in health policy and bioethics, said by attributing the deaths to underlying health conditions, the government seems to be undermining the extent of the infection. “Nobody dies of hypertension and diabetes suddenly, except in cases of rare complications. In both these cases, the victims had tested positive for coronavirus,” Bhan said. “Officials in the health ministry conceded that the move of playing up the patients’ previous health condition was aimed at “reducing panic”. “It’s not that we are not acknowledging the presence of viral infection in both the victims. But it cannot be ignored that they were elderly with much weaker immune system and had significant co-morbidity,” an official told this newspaper.
Delhi’s first corona patient released
There was some relief for the national capital amidst the scare surrounding corona outbreak. The corona patient from Mayur Vihar Phase-2, the first positive case in Delhi, was discharged from hospital after he recovered fully.