Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja dismissed charges Tuesday that the state is covering up Covid-19 deaths, clarifying that not all COVID-positive deaths in the preliminary review can be recorded as part of the official count.
Deaths arising as a result of coronavirus infection in the state are certified in accordance with the International Guidelines for the Certification and Classification (Coding) of Covid-19 as the cause of death of the World Health Organization (WHO), he said the health minister in a statement. These guidelines have been established as part of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases. A COVID death, according to these guidelines, can only be one in which a patient succumbs to coronavirus infection in a critical condition as a result of severe damage to their internal organs. A team of experts from the health department makes the final decision in this regard.
If a COVID positive patient dies by suicide, drowning, or accident, it cannot be considered a COVID death, the minister said. Even when a patient, on suspicion of infection, dies, a team of doctors will have to carry out a detailed examination and report before it can be added to the official count.
Similarly, a person who dies as a result of severe comorbidities cannot always be called Covid’s death, even if he tests positive posthumously. The expert medical team should evaluate the hospital’s report on the patient’s death before making a decision.
The minister cited examples of cases in which Covid deaths were called. While a 23-year-old man who died of suicide but later tested positive was not added to the official count, a 68-year-old Covid positive patient who died in Thiruvananthapuram on July 31 as a result of severe underlying conditions was added. to the list two days later, after being examined by the panel of experts.
The health department has developed a plan whereby people took to the hospital after death in which the doctor may suspect that there is a possibility of infection undergo immediate tests through gen expert or True-Nat for faster results. However, all samples that test positive for True-Nat may not be positive for Covid at all times. People with serious underlying conditions can also give a false positive. In any case, all these bodies are discharged from the hospital with the Covid label and must be cremated/buried according to the Covid protocol. The results of gen expert or True-Nat are sent for confirmation to the NiV laboratory in Alappuzha’s publication, which the panel of experts decides on the merit of death.
“Certain deaths that have been flagged by media reports as not included in the official count have been declared by the government after confirmation in the coming days. Others, which do not conform to the guidelines, have also been avoided, “said the minister.
Kerala has seen several deaths of people who tested positive for Covid posthumously, worrying that such cases are detected late and that the spread of the infection is much greater than claimed by the government.
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