M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Jan 4: 23 claims for ex gratia assistance worth Rs. 50,000 each in the wake of death by covid have been cleared for payment at the meeting of the District Disaster Management Authority Palamu, headed by DC Shashi Ranjan.
These 23 claims were such where requisite papers and information were duly given. The DC said that 59 claims for the ex-gratia assistance have been made so far.
Civil surgeon Dr Anil Kumar said that there has been a record of 118 deaths caused by Covid-19 taking into both first and second waves.
The ascertaining committee led by the Additional Collector is scrutinising the claims each on its merit.
R K Ranjan, a senior doctor of the Medini Rai medical college hospital in Daltonganj, who took part in the DDMA meeting held on Monday said: “We are told that there are cases where a covid patient died en route to the hospital, be it in Palamu or while going to Ranchi and was disposed of in accordance with the covid death disposal procedure.”
Dr Ranjan said that such a family ought to produce a lab test report, x-ray report, CT scan of lungs, serum ferritin report or even the doctor’s prescription stating a patient’s complaint like distress in breathing or lowering down of the oxygen level etc.
He added that there are cases where patients have died due to post covid complications like renal failure, pulmonary failure, cardiac failure. Such families should not worry but arrange papers related to such complications for making a claim for ex-gratia assistance.
The Ministry of Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare has issued an exhaustive guidelines for granting ex-gratia aid to the families where covid deaths have occurred.
It reads that death due to poisoning suicide, homicide and accidents will not be considered as death by Covid-19, nevertheless Covid-19 being in such episodes an ‘accompanying situation.’
Sources said there are many death certificates where death by Covid-19 has not been mentioned.
Such cases having this kind of death certificate do have a chance to claim the ex-gratia but the families are to collect all relevant things to justify that the deaths were caused by Covid-19.
