People who die with COVID-19 symptoms won't be tested

Deceased patients will not be tested for COVID-19 even if they had shown symptoms of the disease as the state government has banned drawing their samples.

There will be, however, no change in the procedure to cremate or bury people suspected to have died of Covid-19. The final rites have to be conducted as per the ICMR protocol, Commissioner for Health and Family Welfare Pankaj Kumar Pandey said, a day after Karnataka revised the lab testing protocol.

Karnataka’s decision comes three weeks after the Delhi government ordered that the union territory will no longer draw the samples after death even if the person is suspected to have died of COVID-19.

Malini Aisola, co-convener, All India Drug Action Network, said: “Taking swab samples from dead bodies in cases suspected to have been affected by COVID-19 is recommended by the ICMR. It is necessary for contact tracing and also important for monitoring the spread of the infection as deaths are an important indicator (being a fraction of all cases). A policy against testing dead bodies undermines the appropriate reporting of COVID-19 deaths as per guidelines.”

Aisola said the Delhi government’s decision to stop testing dead bodies had been criticised for similar reasons and was taken after the media exposed a systematic underreporting of deaths.

The decision (to not test deceased patients) suits the government and helps in bringing down the COVID-19 mortality rate in Karnataka. Out of the 64 deaths reported so far in the state, many were declared COVID-19 positive days after they died. On Monday alone, two of the three deaths in Bengaluru Urban were of those who had died on June 4 and June 5, respectively, but their COVID-19 test reports came only three to four days later.

Dr M K Sudarshan, the chairman of the state COVID-19 task force, has a different take. “A patient is more infectious than a dead COVID-19 patient. So a COVID-19 test is not required. After maintaining necessary precautions, COVID-19 suspects can be buried. Initially, there were instructions to take the swabs within two to six hours. We are not hiding any COVID-19 deaths,” he explained.

Bengaluru Urban has so far seen 18 COVID-19 deaths and one suicide by a COVID-19 patient. Dr Srinivas G A, District Health Officer, Bengaluru Urban, said: “In our district, at least in four or five deaths, the swabs were taken after the patient died. We have not received any instruction not to take swabs from dead bodies as yet.”

VIP deaths compound problem

The problem is compounded more so in the event of the death of a famous personality.

Dr Govindaiah Yatheesh, Unit Head, Apollo Specialty Hospital, Jayanagar, coordinated with the police and the family of Chiranjeevi Sarja when the actor was brought to his hospital after collapsing from a cardiac arrest.

“We generally test for COVID-19 if the family reports any symptoms, travel history or contact history. In the actor’s case, he experienced breathlessness before coming here. Only after we received a COVID-19 negative report did we hand over the body. So many people visited his funeral. We wanted to make sure of everyone’s safety,” Yatheesh told DH.

The hospital has taken the swabs for the COVID-19 test from at least three dead bodies since the start of the pandemic.