Thiruvananthapuram: Amid concerns that Kerala has been under-reporting fatalities caused by COVID-19, State Health Minister Veena George on Thursday indicated that the death toll as per the official figures could be reviewed if required.
The government has nothing to hide in this regard, she added.
The Health Minister said that online registration of deaths, including those caused by COVID, will help in easing the entire process of data collection. "If a person dies at a hospital, a doctor or superintendent must report the death online. The report will be compiled at the district level and published. This process of collating data will help minimise errors," she said.
"The government has followed the ICMR and WHO guidelines while registering deaths. But if the central Health Ministry issues new guidelines for recording Covid deaths, we are willing to follow them," the Minister stated.
Opposition Leader VD Satheesan had requested the government to examine the cases not included in the formal COVID death count even as the victims were cremated as per the prescribed COVID-19 protocol. An audit to this effect must be completed in 10 days time, the Opposition had demanded.
The compensation decided by the Supreme Court should be provided to the deserving dependents of the dead, he said.
The Supreme Court had on Wednesday observed that the kin of the victims of the pandemic is eligible for compensation from the disaster management fund.
Confusion has prevailed over the exact number of COVID-19 casualties in Kerala, with doctors too questioning the official figure that pegged the total deaths till Wednesday at 13,235.
Those who died of comorbidities are also currently excluded from the COVID toll kept by the authorities.