This year till September, rural Haryana witnessed more deaths than urban areas

Every district in state has recorded unusually more deaths (irrespective of their cause) than they would have been in a normal year, in what is a clear sign of the devastation the Covid-19 pandemic caused.

Deaths registered till September this year have been higher in rural Haryana than the urban areas, according to government data which also show that 39% of total fatalities in first nine months were recorded in May-June during the deadly second wave of Covid-19.

This year till September, rural Haryana witnessed more deaths than urban areas

Every district in state has recorded unusually more deaths (irrespective of their cause) than they would have been in a normal year, in what is a clear sign of the devastation the Covid-19 pandemic caused.

While 38% total deaths (1,01,456) registered in rural areas of Haryana were reported in just May and June this year, near 39% urban deaths (96,506) were recorded in May-June, according to the data that the Haryana health department supplied under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

During the pre-pandemic 2019, Haryana had registered total 1,88,910 deaths (1,19,360 male and 69,550 female). In 2020, total deaths recorded in Haryana rose to 2,12,214 (23,304 more deaths in 2020 than 2019).

In 2020, the number of registered deaths in comparison to 2019 rose in every district, but in Rohtak, 15,940 deaths were recorded in 2019 and 15,061 in 2020.

Till September this year, the number of deaths (due to any cause, including Covid-19) registered in Haryana has already reached 1,97,962 (1,01,456 in rural areas and 96,506 in urban). And, of the total deaths till September this year, 1,21,056 are males and 76,906 females.

The data received under the RTI Act doesn’t reveal the cause of death and the cause of these deaths are multiple, including Covid-19.

According to deputy director (health services) Dr PK Singh, a higher number of deaths have been registered in rural areas so far this year in Haryana. “The death is registered at the place where it took place and the cause of death is not disclosed on the death registration portal,” Dr Singh said.

As per the health bulletin data, almost 50% of the total deaths in Haryana due to coronavirus had taken place in May, the deadliest month ever since the Wuhan virus was detected in Haryana last year in February.

In April, Haryana had recorded the second highest 1,061 fatalities due to Covid-19. On the other hand, till May 31, 2020, the death toll in Haryana due to Covid-19 was 20 and it began increasing in following months with the virus claiming 16 lives in June, 639 in November and 477 in December.

Rural vs urban

A health department functionary said more deaths registered during the second year of the pandemic in rural areas points towards people not going to urban health institutions due to Covid.

“Such patients of rural areas who needed regular treatment/healthcare succumbed to the diseases (other than Covid) in their homes or in health institutions in their vicinity,” the official said.

In January this year, 17,929 deaths were registered across state, which included 9,397 in rural areas and 8,532 in urban. February saw 16,985 deaths (8,929 rural and 8056 urban), March recorded 15,563 deaths (7,560 rural and 8,003 urban), and the number rose to 19,157 (9,130 rural and 10,027 urban) in April.

In May, when the pandemic was causing havoc, Haryana registered total 45,587 deaths (21,683 rural and 23,904 urban), the number of deaths recorded came down to 30,750 (17,231 rural and 13,519 urban) in June.

In July, August and September, more deaths were recorded in rural areas even as during these three months 26% of the total deaths in nine months were registered.

In an indication of Covid-19 increasing the number of deaths, in May, Ambala recorded 1,669 deaths, Bhiwani (1,988), Faridabad (3,891), Gurugram (3,562), Hisar (4,180), Jhajjar (2,682), Jind (2,158), Rohtak (2,664), Sirsa (2,080), Sonepat ( 2,927), and Karnal (1,969).

“The health institutions were unable to admit/treat patients suffering from ailments other than Covid-19. One thing is clear that rural area patients could not come to the urban health institutions due to the pandemic. This appears to be one of the reasons behind rural areas recording deaths higher than urban belts this year,” a health official said, refusing to be identified.