Assam's COVID-19 fatality rate low because of 'under-reporting' of deaths: Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi

New Delhi: Assam's Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi, who represents Nagaon Lok Sabha Constituency, today claimed in the Parliament that Assam's COVID-19 fatality rate continues to be low due to the phenomenon of "underwriting" of fatalities.

The former Assam Minister and senior Congressman, during a discussion on the COVID-19 fight in the Lok Sabha today, told Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan that at least 550 persons who died due to COVID were not counted as virus-related casualties by the death audit board as they had other "co-morbid conditions."

"We also are facing the brunt of the COVID-19 menace. In my state, 548 reported deaths out of nearly 1.56 lakh as of today. It has a low fatality rate of around 0.35%. It is a cause of happiness and relief for me and the state. But, certain new facts have emerged which challenge the existing data," Bordoloi said.

Bordoloi claimed that the fatality in the state remains low "because the government has ignored the deaths of several people under COVID on multiple occasions."

"The Death Audit Board set up by the State Government to help capture the unreported deaths has reportedly discounted deaths that should have been counted as COVID-19 fatalities," the Nagaon MP told the Union Health Minister. "Such under-reported deaths has caused pain and anguish to several families who have lost their loved ones to COVID, but the government has failed to acknowledge their deaths by the virus, by not adding their names to the list of COVID deaths."

The Assam MP further stated that 550 cases till yesterday have been "omitted" despite confirmation in laboratories as the patients had "co-morbid" conditions. "Is it ethical that the confirmed COVID cases, confirmed by labs, have been discounted from the mortality list?," Bordoloi asked.

He further questioned whether the alleged "under-reporting" of COVID-19 cases is aimed to portray a better "health management and efficiency."

Assam on Tuesday reported 2,073 new cases of COVID-19 and eight more deaths, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Among the latest deaths, two happened in Kamrup Metropolitan and one each in Dibrugarh, Darrang, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Jorhat, and Cachar, he said.

The state has so far reported 1,61,393 cases of COVID-19. There are 29,857 active cases at present while 1,30,947 patients have recovered. So far, 586 patients have died

Earlier in the month, Sarma had said deaths after treatment for coronavirus infections are rising in the state. However, these deaths do not count as COVID-19 deaths. In Assam, a Death Audit Board has to first clear the death of a person as actually being caused by COVID before it can be added to the tally.

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