After Expose on COVID Fatalities, Gujarat Govt Blames Duplicate Registrations For Death Certificates

Ahmedabad: The second wave of coronavirus has put the country in a lockdown state. The numbers were very high in the past month but with lockdown and curfew in almost all the states, the daily Covid cases have been coming down a bit. But still, the situation is not completely fine.

There is still a shortage of Covid medical supplies. People even in critical condition have to wait to get admitted as there are no beds in hospitals. Similarly, there is a shortage in oxygen cylinders and other Covid19 medical essentials.

With all that is happening, the number of deaths has also increased. Talking about Gujarat, we have seen that the situation has not been so good. The hospitals are full and there is a line even at the crematoriums. There have been reports regarding discrepancies in the number of deaths reported.

Recently a leading Gujarati daily, Divya Bhaskar published a report about the number of death certificates issued and the Covid19 factor behind it. With the daily report, the situation at the crematoriums and going by the local newspapers, the results will be a shocking one.

Also Read: Vaccine Shortage Stalls Vaccination Drive For Those Above 45 In Telangana

In March, April and May months, the Gujarat government issued around 1,23,871 death certificates. According to Divya Bhaskar, this is the data from March 1 to May 10, 2021. Looking back at the numbers from last year for this same period, it can be noted that the number of certificates issued has more than doubled. In 2020 it was 58,000 as opposed to 1,23,871 in 2021 (for March 1 to May 10).

The factor here is the cause of this increase which we clearly believe is due to Covid19. The surge of cases in the second wave can be blamed for this. But going by the certificates, almost 80% of it doesn’t list Covid as the reason for death. Instead, hypertension, diabetes and other such problems were written as the reason. Also, the government data shows the Covid death toll for March 1-May 10, 2021 to be just 4,218.

It has been pointed out many times that the Gujarat government has been hiding the actual numbers. The ministers are not ready to talk about it. They give no direct answer upon being questioned. The health department officials are not even available overcall.

Now that the Divya Bhaskar report has come to light, the ministers were quick to brush off Covid as the reason. Pradipsinh Jadeja in a press conference labelled the report and the numbers to be baseless. He pointed out that there has been a decrease in the number of cases, so it is not possible that the deaths are related to coronavirus.

“Death certificates are required for various purposes like bank insurance, LIC and other services. For emergencies, we have established an online method so that family members can obtain certificates at home itself,” said Jadeja.

Also Read: COVID Fatalities in India Grossly Under-reported

He further added that death certificates are issued for various reasons and since families can obtain them from home, there is a possibility of more than one registration for a person sometimes. Therefore, there can be a difference in the number of death certificates issued and the actual figure of deaths.

The number shared in the Divya Bhaskar report (1,23,871) cannot be true since there has been a significant drop in the daily cases and it is not just about Covid19. The overall number (including Covid and non-Covid deaths) as well is far less than this.

Jadeja shared that the media is causing panic among people. The situation is getting better so it is disappointing that the media would share such a deceptive report and instil fear among the citizens.