Centre steps in, seeks details of COVID deaths in Chennai

Chennai

According to Chennai Corporation sources, details of deaths should have been updated before Sunday evening, but the process could not be completed as the sanitary inspectors in the field are overseeing prevention works.

“Usually, the Central government will ask for the cause of death forms such as Form 4 (Medical certificate of cause of death - hospital in-patients) and Form 4A (Medical certificate of cause of death - Non-institutional) at the end of every year. Owing to the outbreak, they are asking for Form 4 and Form 4A certificates immediately,” a field-level official said. The official added that death certificates of several victims are yet to be validated. Due to this, the furnishing of certificates would take two to three days. The civic body is yet to upload the death certificates, which occurred during the last two months.

As per official records, only 314 persons had died in the city due to COVID-19. Soon after the under-reporting allegations, the Health Department started releasing details of the deceased, who had died much earlier, for the last few days.

“There are more than 200 unreported deaths occurred in the city. As on Sunday afternoon, only 71 deaths were validated and e-signed by sanitary officers of the respective zones. As many as 124 deaths are to be validated and e-signed. Other 320 deaths are yet to be entered in the web portal of the Chennai Corporation,” sources added.

A senior Chennai Corporation official, when asked whether the Central government is seeking the certificates to cross verify the deaths in the city or the exercise is a usual practice, said that he did not go through the provisions in the communication as he was held up in fieldwork.

Meanwhile, the State government has constituted a committee to verify and reconcile under-reported deaths in the city. The committee comprises of officials from the Directorate of Public Health and Chennai Corporation.