Covid toll swells 31% as Chandigarh administration accepts data of crematoria

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 9

The UT Covid-19 death toll has jumped 31 per cent with the Health Department accepting the data of city crematoria where the bodies were cremated with the Covid protocol in the past two years.

The death toll is expected to go up further as the reconciliation of Covid deaths is still underway. So far, the toll stands at 1,076, while the official figures had put the toll at 820 in the UT.

Chandigarh fatality rate now 1.6%

The fatality rate of Chandigarh has now increased from 1.2 per cent to 1.6 per cent after the addition of Covid deaths from crematoria.

The reconciliation of Covid deaths is now being carried out by the IDSP cell of the UT Health Department in view of the ongoing identification of beneficiaries who would be eligible for ex gratia of Rs50,000, an amount that would be given to kin of those who died of the virus.

As per the data from crematoria, 359 more deaths took place in Chandigarh due to Covid, but these were not included in the official figures. The bodies were cremated with the Covid protocol and the families were asked to fill a form in which the cause of death was mentioned as Covid.

Of the 359 deaths, 256 were recorded at the cremation ground in accordance with the Centre’s definition of Covid death and have been added to the toll, while the remaining were mentioned as Covid deaths but there was no document substantiating that the person was Covid positive or their addresses were not available. “These deaths were further investigated from the records of hospitals and details/documents collected from family members of the deceased persons,” said Yashpal Garg, UT Health Secretary. As per the previous practice, patients dying of Covid were considered Covid deaths only with a medical certificate.

As per the new guidelines, a death occurring within 30 days from the date of testing or from the date of being clinically determined as a Covid case is treated as “death due to Covid” even if the death takes place outside the hospital/in-patient facility. However, a Covid case admitted to a hospital/in-patient facility beyond 30 days, who dies subsequently will also be treated as a Covid death.

Health Dept in talks with other states

The Health Department is in talks with other states regarding Covid deaths of city residents whose last rites were performed in crematoria in their states so that the beneficiaries can be identified. “We have gone a step ahead in identifying Covid victims from crematoria. There may have been Covid deceased who were not cremated with the Covid protocol or may have died at home. Such cases can also avail of the compensation based on the medical history and lab reports of the deceased.”

29 applicants get ex gratia of Rs50K each

In response to a public notice issued by the UT Administration regarding providing ex gratia of Rs50,000 to next of kin of the deceased who died of Covid, 138 applications have been received of which 29 applicants have got a total claim of Rs14,50,000 via the DBT mode. The remaining applications are under process. TNS

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