The Odisha government has decided to constitute district-level committees for the re-auditing of the COVID deaths and issuance of Coronavirus death certificates to the next of kin of those who succumbed to COVID-19.
The committees are being formed in each of the 30 districts in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
As per centre’s direction, the government will pay an ex gratia amount of Rs 50,000 to the families of those whose deaths have been certified as Covid-19 fatalities.
The Union government had earlier informed the Supreme Court through an affidavit that the States and Union territories will disburse the compensatory sum towards the bereaved families who lost their loved ones to COVID-19.
“A committee is to be constituted by the collector at the district level with immediate effect. The committee would comprise Additional District Magistrate, CDM & PHO, Principal or Head of the Department, Medicine, of a Medical College (If it exists in the district). It will be responsible for issuing official documents for COVID-19 death and will follow the procedure as outlined in the guidelines of the Ministry”, the additional chief secretary (health) stated in a letter to the district collectors and Municipal Commissioners of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Berhampur, and Rourkela.
The coastal State had recorded a sharp spike in COVID-19 to the tune of almost 300% in three months beginning from June.
However, there was large-scale under-reporting of deaths even though the cremation grounds were overwhelmed with bodies of patients who had succumbed to Covid-19. Facing widespread criticism from several quarters, the government was forced to conduct an audit of past deaths due to COVID.
The death toll consequently shot up exponentially with the State adding around 6,000 deaths in the last four months starting from June following the death audit.