Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday denied that the state was hiding any deaths due to coronavirus. He claimed that it was impossible to suppress such figures and maintained that the state continues to have the lowest mortality rate in the country.
"If people die of coronavirus, everyone will know, this can't be hidden. The government gets nothing from hiding these figures. . We have been open and been giving all statistics. Our health department is giving data on samples, active cases and several other criteria. We are giving these details everyday," insisted the Chief Minister, while inaugurating a flyover at Salem.
He further listed out figures of the number of people who have been tested and who have recovered in the state as of Thursday.
The Chief Minister's clarification comes a day after reports suggested that 236 additional deaths due to COVID-19 have not been reported by the state government. The difference is reportedly evident when the city corporation's death register is compared to the list in the state's possession. A reconciliation process to examine mortuary records, burial reports and cremation data is currently underway to correct any mistakes in reportage of deaths.
"Only people with multiple comorbidities are dying. Tamil Nadu has the lowest mortality rate in the whole of India. Whoever has been affected, it is the government's job to treat them," he stated.
He further added that there are over 3,300 ventilators in Tamil Nadu, that can be put to use to treat patients and that there is no community transmission in the state.
On Thursday, the state recorded l 1,837 COVID-19 cases taking its total to 38,716. Of these, the number of active cases or people still undergoing treatment is 17,179 . In the state's capital meanwhile, the rise in the number of infected people continues to steadily rise ove3r the week, with 1,406 cases on Thursday alone. The number of cases in the city now stands at 27,398.
23 deaths were meanwhile reported in the state on Thursday. 21 of these are from government hospitals while 2 are from private hospitals. The number of deaths in the state currently stands at 349.
In addition to this, 23 deaths have been reported, with two from private hospitals and 21 from government hospitals, taking the total number of deaths in the state to 349. This is discounting deaths that have not been reported by the corporation to the Directorate of Public Health (DPH) over the last three months.