Several states witnessed a rise in registered deaths in April and May, the time when the second COVID wave had hit hard, but most of them still have to devisea coordinated plan to determine how much of the surge is due to COVID.

The Indian Express had earlier reported that the cumulative all-cause deaths in April and May this year for eight states, including Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh, was 1.87 times higher thanall-cause deaths in April-May 2019 (non-pandemic year). Only Bihar and Karnataka appear to have acknowledged this spike. Taking account of their official death toll due to COVID-19 for these two months in 2021, which was 3,587 in Bihar and 16,504 in Karnataka, their multiplier amounts to 2.03 times in Bihar and 1.37 times in Karnataka.

Both the states intend to expand the definition of COVID-19 deaths, particularly to provide ex gratia to affected families. In Bihar, the cause of death can be attributed to COVID-19 based on lung infection as seen in a high resolution CT report and the treatment followed. In Karnataka, in the absence of a COVID-positive report, if the patient was treated symptomatically with clinical, radiological evidence and laboratory values suggestive of COVID-19, then the families can claim compensation if the death is so certified by a doctor.

Senior officials of the State and Central government have stated that the present system is rigid and does not allow death to be attributed to COVID-19 in the absence of a positive report, hospital admission, or certification by an attending doctor.

In terms of compensation, Bihar pays Rs 4 lakh from the CM Relief Fund to families that have lost a member to COVID-19. The cumulative official death toll in the state as of Wednesday is 9644. Karnataka pays Rs 1 lakh compensation to BPL families a member has been lost to COVID-19.

The Apex court had directed the Center on June 30 to frame guidelines for ex gratia payment to families of those who died due to COVID-19 within six weeks.

Responding to The Indian Express report, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had said on Wednesday that some cases may go undetected according to the principles of infectious disease and its management, but dismissed missing out on fatalities.

Source: The Indian Express