In an affidavit to the Supreme Court, the Centre stated that all deaths of people diagnosed with Covid-19 will be treated as Covid-19 deaths, regardless of comorbidities.
The government stated in its June 19 submission that a Covid-19 death must be certified as such, and that any failure to do so will result in penalties, including for the certifying doctor. “The only exception could be if there is a clear alternative cause of death that cannot be attributed to Covid-19 (e.g., accidental trauma, poisoning, acute myocardial infarction, etc.) and Covid-19 is an incidental finding…” according to the statement.
The affidavit cited a letter sent to all states and union territories by the ministry of health and family welfare on October 9, 2020.
“All deaths with a diagnosis of COVID-19, irrespective of co-morbidities, are to be classified as deaths due to COVID-19,” the affidavit said, paraphrasing the letter.
Last year, the Union health ministry issued broad guidelines to standardise the Covid-19 documentation process, which were prepared by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Covid-19 must be identified as the underlying cause of death when a person dies of pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, cardiac injury, or blood clotting, all of which are known to be caused by the viral infection.
Co-morbidities such as asthma, heart disease, diabetes, or cancer, according to the guidelines, can cause severe disease but cannot be considered the underlying cause of death.
The Union health ministry also requested that states form dedicated committees to investigate the Covid-19 deaths, and that all hospitals submit death summaries to the committees within 24 hours. These were death audit committees tasked with investigating the causes of death and determining whether they could be avoided.
The affidavit also mentions that a death audit is an administrative exercise to identify gaps that contribute to deaths of patients. The aim is to improve the quality of healthcare services.
“It can be a fruitful exercise that immensely helps in identifying and plugging the gaps,” said a member of a death audit committee in Delhi.
India on Sunday recorded 53,035 new Covid-19 cases, taking its tally to 29,934,343. The toll, meanwhile, reached 388,182 with 1,424 fatalities within 24 hours.
