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Pune mayor alleges 400 unaccounted suspected Covid deaths
The city, till Wednesday, recorded 55,035 positive cases and 1,358 Covid-related deaths
Mayor Murlidhar Mohol, on Thursday, alleged that there are at least 400 suspected Covid deaths in July, that have gone unaccounted for.
Mohol’s allegation came on the day chief minister Uddhav Thackeray visited the city.
According to Mohol, as per ICMR guidelines, there is no need to conduct the Covid-19 test on a deceased person.
“As per my information, every day, almost 12 suspected deaths are being recorded at Sassoon Hospital alone and there are many such cases in other hospitals. Post the death, when doctors carry out an X-ray test on the body, there are clear symptoms of Covid,” the mayor said.
The city, till Wednesday, recorded 55,035 positive cases and 1,358 Covid-related deaths.
Mohol said he needed to put this in front of the authorities to save lives. “I don’t want to blame anyone for this situation, but I need to put this fact before the authorities and steps should be taken to save lives. It is also negligence at the citizens’ level as they are rushing to hospital at the last stage,” the mayor said.
Reacting to Mohol’s allegations, doctors in the city while the fact may be true, the numbers quoted look exaggerated.
Dr Sunil Rao, medical director of Sahyadri hospital, said, “It is true that such suspected deaths are occurring, but the number quoted by the mayor is looking a little exaggerated. We have six Covid hospitals in the city and such suspected deaths are hardly two or three in a month. Suspected Covid deaths are there, but the numbers will be less.”
Despite repeated attempts divisional commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar, municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar and PMC health chief Ramchandra Hankare did not respond to calls and messages till the time of this report going to press.
Another officer from PMC requesting anonymity said, “There are suspected deaths, but the number would be lower. As the number of critical cases increased in last two to three weeks, such cases have increased mainly in this period.”
