Kerala to implement new Covid-19 death reporting system, hopes to address flaws

Underreporting of Covid-19 deaths, an allegation that the health sector of Kerala is facing right from the initial stages of the pandemic might be addressed as the state is switching over to a new system of determining the cause of deaths at the district level itself, instead of the present system of deciding at the state level.

The new online system that will come into place from Tuesday would ensure transparency and avoid a backlog in determining the Covid-19 deaths, which is mainly caused by missing the information. It was due to the clearance of the backlog that the state is witnessing higher Covid-19 deaths over the last several days, health department sources said.

The Covid-19 death rate of Kerala is now 0.41 per cent with 11,342 total deaths.

Allegations of underreporting of Covid-19 deaths assumed much seriousness as the Centre and the state government announced support schemes for children orphaned due to Covid-19. There were apprehensions that due to the suspected underreporting, many children who lost both father and mother to Covid-19 may be deprived of the benefits.

Read more: Alleged under-reporting of Covid cases in Kerala may deny assistance to many orphaned children

Sources in the Kerala health department told DH that the major flaw in the present Covid-19 death reporting system is the loss of some vital information like Specimen Referral Form Identification Number (SRF ID), which is generated when a person is tested Covid-19 positive while transferring patients' records from hospitals to the authorities. The state-level team would keep such cases of missing information in abeyance. This was leading to a backlog.

With the new online system, all such vital information about patients would be made 'mandatory fields'. Hence, no data will be missed. Moreover, to avoid the backlog, the state government had allowed the district level teams to declare the cause of death of a patient - whether it is Covid-19 or not.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that with the introduction of the new system from Tuesday, the backlog and confusions over Covid-19 death reporting would be over.

Meanwhile, the existing lockdown in Kerala, which will continue till June 16, is likely to be relaxed as the test positivity rate in the state is coming down. On Monday, the TPR of the state was 11.26 per cent.