New Delhi: The central government has submitted “simplified” guidelines on which Covid-19 deaths will be eligible for the issue of an official document, three months after it was ordered to do so by the Supreme Court. This official document can be used for seeking compensation under the Disaster Management Act.
The guidelines, dated 8 September, have been jointly issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
According to the guidelines, Covid-19 cases diagnosed through RT-PCR, Rapid Antigen Tests and other molecular tests (such as TrueNAT and CBNAAT), “clinically determined through investigations in a hospital/ in-patient facility”, will be counted.
Those Covid-19 deaths occurring within 30 days of testing “or from the date of being clinically determined as a Covid-19 case, will be treated as deaths due to Covid-19, even if the death takes place outside the hospital/ in-patient facility”. This is being done to be more “inclusive”, even though a study by the ICMR said most Covid-19 deaths take place within 25 days of detection.
Covid-19 deaths that occur after 30 days will also be counted if the afflicted person is admitted to a hospital or in-patient facility.
“A Covid-19 case, while admitted in the hospital in-patient facility, and who continued as the same admission beyond 30 days, and died subsequently, shall be treated as a COVID-19 death,” the guidelines state.
However, deaths due to poisoning, suicide, homicide and accidents “will not be considered as Covid-19 deaths even if Covid-19 is an accompanying condition”.
If family members are dissatisfied with the cause of death, the guidelines direct states and union territories to notify a committee “consisting of Additional District Collector, Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH), Additional CMOH/ Principal or HOD Medicine of a Medical College and a subject expert”. All applications must be disposed of within 30 days of receipt.
Apart from addressing the grievances of the family, the committee is also directed to “propose necessary remedial measures, including issuance of amended official document for Covid-19 death after verifying facts in accordance with these guidelines”.
Also read: Single vaccine shot 96.6%, 2 doses 97.5% effective in preventing Covid deaths, ICMR finds
Supreme Court rap
The Supreme Court had pulled up the Centre last week, with a bench of Justices M.R. Shah and Aniruddha Bose saying: “By the time you take further steps, the third wave will also be over. The order on death certificate, compensation, etc., was passed long back.”
On 30 June, the Supreme Court had asked the National Disaster Management Authority frame guidelines on registering Covid-19 deaths, and stated that compensation was “a must” under the Disaster Management Act.
Then, on 16 August, the court gave the Centre four more weeks to comply with its orders on framing guidelines for compensation and Covid-19 deaths.
(Edited by Shreyas Sharma)
Also read: India’s Covid death rate likely to be 7-8 times higher than reported, study finds