'System Is Robust': Govt Issues Clarification Over Reports Of Uncounted Covid Deaths

The Union Health Ministry has issued a clarification over reports claiming undercounting of Covid deaths in India.

Image: PTI

New Delhi: After reports of undercounting of Covid related deaths in the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs has said in a statement ensuring that with such a 'robust and statute-based Death Registration System in India' missing out on deaths is completely unlikely. 

Issuing clarification on reports inferring undercounting of COVID-19 deaths from eight states, while also stating that the deaths can only be estimated and the exact data may never be known, MHA said," India follows a system in which districts report the number of cases & deaths to the States and Union Ministry on a continuous basis."

"To avoid inconsistency or confusion in the number of deaths being reported, ICMR had also issued ‘Guidance for the appropriate recording of COVID-19 related deaths for correct recording of all deaths by States/UTs commended by WHO", said the ministry.

The Union Health Ministry further said that the govt has always focused on the need for a robust reporting mechanism for monitoring district-wise cases and deaths on a daily basis. States consistently reporting a lower number of daily deaths have been advised to re-check their data.

MHA also pointed the cases when Bihar recounted the Covid fatalities and said that it has instructed the state to provide detailed data and a district-wise break-up of the reconciled number of deaths.

The Ministry of Home Affairs clarified that in addition to reporting by States/UTs, the Civil Registration System (CRS) ensures all births and deaths in the country get registered. The CRS follows the process of data collection, cleaning, collating, and publishing the numbers, which although is a long-drawn process, but ensures no deaths are missed out.