The Delhi government issued an order to both public and private hospitals in the Capital and warned of strict action in case of any delay in reporting COVID-19 deaths.
After allegations were made that the government was not reporting the actual number of deaths due to the virus, Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev issued an order along with a standard operating procedure (SOP) under which all COVID-19 hospitals and other facilities will e-mail a ‘death report’ to the government by 5 p.m. everyday.
“It has come to notice that both public and private hospitals are not reporting the deaths of positive cases of COVID-19 ...in a timely and regular manner. Despite several reminders, the death summaries are not being provided to the Death Audit Committee resulting in incorrect/delayed reports being submitted,” the order reads.
“Every COVID-19 hospital and other health facilities will appoint nodal officers who will ensure timely communication of deaths,” Mr. Dev said in the order. The order said that non-compliance will be viewed seriously and action as per relevant provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and other relevant laws will be taken against defaulters without any further notice.
A Death Audit Committee was constituted on April 20 with the mandate to audit each and every death case on a daily basis in which COVID-19 test is positive in all government and private hospitals before releasing the data.
