Shocking: 200 Missing Deaths in Tamil Nadu, is TN Govt Hiding Something?

To everyones shock, in Chennai alone, 200 deaths due to Coronavirus did not make it to the list of state tolls. On Wednesday, 10^th June it was found that around 200 deaths were not reported or missing from the state governments official toll list.

Tamil Nadu is the second most affected state by Coronavirus, Maharashtra being the first. As of 10^th June, the state has recorded around 37,000 Coronavirus positive cases with 326 deaths. Of these 326 deaths 260 are from Chennai and its surrounding areas. The state tally is increasing exponentially with record number of cases being reported daily. This mismatch of deaths certainly casts a doubt over the number reported by the state government at present.

The officials responsible for updating the data has already put the blame upon the procedures that were followed in reporting the deaths due to COVID19 in Chennai. According to them there ware no prescribed procedure in reporting the day-to-day deaths recorded in Chennai’s registry to the government. The incident certainly raises a question about the Tamil Nadu Government hiding the number of deaths related to COVID19. However, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Beela Rajesh disagreed with the allegation. She said, “We don’t have to hide the death data, we cannot do that. We have been accurately reporting all Covid-19 deaths as reported from hospitals in the public and private sector. Following latest reports that there were several deaths that were not reported, we have formed this committee to assess all these alleged Covid-19 deaths in city limits.”

The incident comes into light at a time when the state government is being blamed for its inefficiency in controlling the rising numbers of Coronavirus patients in the state. On Wednesday itself, the state recorded the highest daily increase in number. However, one must not deny the fact that Tamil Nadu has conducted the highest number of tests related to Coronavirus in the country. But the incident highlights the gap between the functioning the government and the local administration.

The mismatch of 200 deaths in Chennai may not be just one single case. Since the Tamil Nadu government has already ordered for an audit we need to wait and watch how many such “mismatches” are found in the state and how the blame game starts playing in the state.