Kerala government’s method of analyzing mortality due to COVID-19 has left the medical society in the state bewildered. As per the dashboard managed by the Kerala government, there are 223 COVID-19 mortality in the state so far. According to reports, since the process of counting deaths is vague, the expert panel has recommended the Kerala audit to recheck the figures of deaths once again. According to unofficial data, about 171 COVID-19 patients are estimated to be excluded from the state’s death tally, especially the deaths between July 20 and August 6.

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This unofficial list has recorded 394 deaths due to COVID-19, against the 223 deaths reported by the state government as on Monday.  Kerala says it follows the guidelines (issued on April 16) by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for certification and classification of COVID-19 deaths. According to WHO, death due to COVID-19 is defined for surveillance purposes “as a death resulting from a clinically compatible illness, in a probable or confirmed COVID-19 case.”

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The death of COVID-19 patients due to physical trauma, such as damages due to an external force caused by accidents are not counted as a fatality caused by the disease. On August 10, an 11-member panel of medical experts, constituted by the Kerala government in March, submitted its report on the underreporting of COVID-19 deaths in the state, although it did not specify an accurate figure of unaccounted fatalities. It also claimed that Kerala is the only state to test ‘brought dead bodies with suspected COVID-19’ for the disease. However, several states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana have been following a similar procedure.

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