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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | In Delhi, number of COVID funerals overshoot official death toll -Jatin Anand

In Delhi, number of COVID funerals overshoot official death toll -Jatin Anand

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published Published on May 15, 2021   modified Modified on May 16, 2021

-The Hindu

Over 4,500 fatalities do not find mention in the Delhi government records.

Over 4,500 people, who lost their lives in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, have slipped through the cracks of Delhi government death records over the last 24 days.

A dovetailing of funerals with government death toll statistics between April 18 and May 11 throws up a cumulative discrepancy of 4,783; the figures varied every day with the difference between them as high as 336 at its peak and 32 at its lowest.

According to municipal records, 12,833 COVID patients were laid to rest during the 24-day period with 534 funerals a day or 22 every 60 minutes being recorded. The Delhi government however, registered 8,050 COVID deaths during the same interval, conceding a daily average of 335 COVID deaths or 13 per hour.

The BJP-led civic bodies attribute the mismatch to the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government’s attempt to “deliberately hide” the actual number of COVID deaths on a daily basis by suppressing death statistics and excluding suspected coronavirus patients from the tally.

“The government has been hiding (death) figures since the pandemic started. Not only did they ignore our request for help in procuring firewood for cremations so citizens do not face inconvenience, they are sitting on funds meant to pay salaries of doctors and sanitation workers engaged everywhere from our COVID hospitals to funeral venues,” Jai Prakash, mayor, North MCD, alleged.

A senior MCD official, cited other “technical reasons” for the mismatch.

“There are two main reasons: the government excluding suspected COVID cases, patients with life-threatening illnesses and non-Delhi residents from the death tally. For us, the last rites of all designated COVID bodies are performed as per protocol irrespective of these reasons,” the official said.

“The other reason is dead bodies of COVID patients are not being laid to rest on the day of their death. Many times families refuse to claim such bodies for one reason or another; these are then brought to funeral venues for last rites in batches of multiple bodies by the police, NGOs and Good Samaritans,” the official said.

The Delhi government denies such charges outright and states that the mismatch is commonly due to deaths of COVID patients occurring either on their way to hospital or outside one because they could not get admission on time.

“We are completely transparent in all matters and especially the pandemic, all deaths are accounted for. In many instances, patients also die due to comorbidities aggravated by COVID after testing negative either at a hospital or at home,” a Delhi government source said.

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The Hindu, 15 May, 2021, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/in-delhi-number-of-covid-funerals-overshoot-official-death-toll/article34566714.ece?homepage=true&fbclid=IwAR1DRaXX4opl8C9z5R7TJ2YBOpPMlVeyncmZRDd9k5OUSjWk2kMrDLTaS0E


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