It is shocking that in Goa at least 72 Covid-19 deaths were unreported by private hospitals. The deaths occurred between May 26, 2020 and May 22, 2021 and have now tumbled out from the hospitals’ closets and let us hope that there are no more skeletons.
By this inexcusable act the hospitals may have put the family and friends of the deceased at high risk. We would never know if some of the people who were in close proximity were affected by the virus and their status.
The government proposes to issue a show-cause notice and ‘strict action’ would be taken if there had been any misdemeanour on the part of the hospitals. Let us wait with crossed fingers for some action.
The timing of doling out the death figures is puzzling. Is it coincidental that the Central and Goa governments recently announced lakhs of rupees as compensation for the victims? Would the governments and insurance companies settle the claims of the deceased persons based on the new findings?
If this horrific under-reporting of deaths has happened in Goa we do not know the position in other States.
Now that the new data has opened a can of worms, the governments need to carry out at random an autopsy of hospitals in India.
