Every Covid death is reported: Mumbai civic body chief

Municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal on Tuesday clarified the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is following all protocols laid down by the government bodies, including Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and is not underreporting single death due to Covid-19

Municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal on Tuesday clarified the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is following all protocols laid down by the government bodies, including Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and is not underreporting single death due to Covid-19.

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HT had on Tuesday reported how in Mumbai, 11,125 people died of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in 2020. However, along with this, the number of non-Covid-19 deaths also increased significantly in 2020, which raises doubts whether Mumbai is underreporting deaths due to the viral infection.

“We are diligently reporting each death to the ICMR and the increase in non-Covid deaths in the city does not mean that those who die because of Covid are labelled as non-Covid deaths,” he said. “I will be the last person to underreport Covid deaths in the city. Ever since the outbreak of Covid, the BMC has updated and shared all data transparently and there is no question of underreporting. In fact, there are few patients who are from outside the city and come to Mumbai for treatment, but sometimes they die here. The death certificate issuing authority is BMC in this case and we are reporting their data also in Mumbai’s toll.”

In 2019, the city reported 91,223 deaths, which went up to 112,603 in 2020 (a 23% increase), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) data revealed. If we subtract Covid-19 deaths from 2020’s overall toll of 112,603, the city saw 101,478 non-Covid deaths in 2020, a significant spike from 2019 (91,223 deaths) and 2018 (88,858 deaths).

This means that there was a 2% spike in non-Covid deaths from 2018 to 2019, and an 11.24% leap from 2019 to 2020. Also, in the first three months of 2021, between January and March, overall, 23,114 deaths have been reported in the city. Of this, only 579 were recorded as Covid deaths, so there were 22,535 non-Covid deaths.

Chahal added, “For example, we had a politician flying down to Mumbai from Jalgaon for treatment. He was Covid positive patient of Jalgaon, but unfortunately, he died in Mumbai. We issued a death certificate for him and have also added that number in our death count. Also, we need to understand that not all patients who die of Covid are deaths due to Covid.”

He said there are patients who are being treated for cancer and are in the last stage during their treatment. During their admission for treatment, they test positive but later they die due to preexisting medical complications. So, for those having underlying disease, the death is not necessarily termed as a Covid death. These types of deaths also find a mention in the list of ICMR. The ICMR itself mandates data in this format.

Chahal added, “If the Central government stops taking such data, we will stop uploading data in that format. But we are just following what is required by government authorities. We also have several cases where patients are admitted in hospitals for months due to terminal diseases. At times, such patients get infected and catch Covid and they later die due to their existing medical complications.”

Meanwhile, as of Tuesday, the city reported 15,216 deaths and the mortality rate is 2.12%. The city reported 572 cases on Tuesday and 14 deaths. The city’s recovery rate is 95.11% and there 17,519 active cases in the city.