Tamil Nadu government directed an audit in Chennai related to COVID-19 deaths. The report did not tally with the record provided to the state. The report created a suspicion in the government as it documented that the deaths are “not less than 200” in Chennai.
As per the data in the Ministry of Health, Tamil Nadu has 17182 active cases of the novel coronavirus and the state has recorded 326 deaths. Altogether, the state has received 36841 cases of the coronavirus. The assessment is based on the records of the city corporation.
The officers have blamed that the death reports have been delayed and the analysis of the reports have not been done on a regular basis. The Health Secretary of the State, Beela Rajesh said that a 9-member committee would observe such data related to COVID-19 deaths. The data couldn’t be hidden and that state has been reporting the COVID-19 cases accurately.
The government has not tracked the record efficiently. The practice of ground reporting is still not in play and the deaths records are being delayed for several days. There are many patients who have died at private hospitals and clinics and also, at home. Hence, there might be some lapses while recording the death reports and the numbers must have mismatched.
The workloads to manage the state lockdown and the issues related to the migrants and laborers have been escalating. The containment zones are at high risks. After managing all such heavy tasks the compilation of data has been delayed.
The Director of Public Health and preventive Medicine, Dr P Vadivelan has said that the death reports related to COVID-19 must be recorded on a daily basis. The committee would look into such a state of affairs. The reputation of the government is at stake. The state based anti-corruption initiative, Arappor Iyakkam complained that the Health Secretary has not intimated the deaths of the COVID-19 patients through letters.
Currently, the state has documented more than 20 deaths at a Southern Railway hospital in Chennai. The deaths have not been recorded in the list of the corporation.