MP health dept reports death of Coronavirus patient 2 months later

INDORE: Questions are being raised over the functioning of the Madhya Pradesh health department after it reported the death of a COVID-19 patient in Indore almost two months after that person had succumbed to the infection. The patient, a 42-year-old man, had died of coronavirus infection on April 6, an official said on Friday.

The official shared the information about the death to the media along with the latest COVID-19 bulletin of the district. When asked about the delay in reporting the death, officiating Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) M P Sharma told PTI, "I will find out at which stage the delay has happened."

"Many times, hospitals provide information related to the death of COVID-19 patients to us late. But it is true that there should not be any delay of this kind. We will soon set the system right," he said.

Questioning the delay, the opposition Congress and activists in Indore have been accusing the state government of reporting COVID-19 deaths as per its own convenience. They have also alleged this delay has raised question marks over the credibility of COVID-19 figures provided by the government.

The Congress has even sought a white paper on this issue.

State Congress spokesperson Aminul Khan Suri has demanded a high-level inquiry into the delay.

In its bulletin, the health department has reported three more deaths at different hospitals in Indore, which took the number of fatalities in Indore district to 149, highest in the state.

Officials said that as many as 54 people tested coronavirus positive in last 24 hours, which took the district tally to 3,687.