“Is there any uniform policy on issuing death certificates to Corona victims? Or are there any guidelines?” the top court had asked the Centre in a notice.
Amid media reports of the huge discrepancy in death figures in at least six states, the Centre has said in an affidavit in the Supreme Court that all coronavirus deaths regardless of where they take place, should be certified as Covid deaths. The centre, in a 183-page affidavit filed last night, also promised action against doctors who fail to comply with this rule.
“Death certificates say death due to lung problem and heart issues. Families of victims have to rush from pillar to post. Is there any uniform policy on issuing death certificates to Corona victims? Or are there any guidelines?” the top court had asked the Centre in a notice.
Till now, only deaths that took place in hospitals due to Covid-19 have been certified. However, deaths that happened at home or even at hospital parking lots have not been certified, leading to a discrepancy in fatality figures that ran into lakhs.
Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Delhi have seen a discrepancy in death figures from this year and in the past.
The recent data from Bihar has also shown that close to 75,000 people died in the state of unexplained causes in the first five months of this year — almost 10 times the state’s official pandemic death figure.
The new rule was announced by the centre in an affidavit which also informed the court that Rs 4 lakh compensation cannot be paid to all those who died due to Covid-19 as it would exhaust the disaster relief funds.
A PIL had sought “minimum standards of relief” and ex-gratia payment to Covid-19 deceased, in response to which the centre submitted its affidavit in the court.
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