Demise within 30 days of diagnosis to be treated as Covid-19 death: Government

Deaths occurring within 30 days from being clinically diagnosed as a Covid-19 case will be treated as “deaths due to Covid-19”, the Centre has submitted in an affidavit filed in Supreme Court.

After being reprimanded by the top court over delay in framing guidelines for issuance of deaths certificates to the families of those who died of Covid-19, the health and family welfare ministry and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) filed a joint affidavit in the court, laying out the guidelines.

The Centre has said the guidelines have been circulated to all the states by the Registrar General of India.


Any death occurring within 30 days from the date of testing or from the date of being clinically determined as a Covid-19 case, will be treated as “deaths due to Covid-19”, even if death takes place outside the hospital or in-patient facility.

Covid-19 cases have been defined as cases diagnosed “through a positive RT-PCR/molecular tests/rapid antigen tests (RAT) or clinically determined through investigations in a hospital/in-patient facility by a treating physician, while admitted in the hospital/in-patient facility”.

In case of long Covid-19, the 30-day rule will not apply.

“A Covid-19 case, while admitted in the hospital/in-patient facility, and who continued as the same admission beyond 30 days, and died subsequently, shall be treated as a Covid-19 death,” the guidelines lay down.

However, deaths due to poisoning, suicide, homicide, deaths due to accident, etc. will not be considered as Covid-19 deaths even if Covid-19 is an accompanying condition, it said.

The guidelines come days after the Supreme Court had expressed displeasure over framing of guidelines for issuance of death certificates. A bench comprising Justices M R Shah and Aniruddha Bose had observed, “We passed the order a long time back. We have already extended the time once. By the time you frame the guidelines, the third phase will also be over.”

The guidelines have also laid down procedure in case the next of kin of the deceased person is not satisfied with the medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) issued by the authorities.

The person can raise a complaint. The state will notify a committee, which will comprise an additional district collector, the chief medical officer of health (CMOH), an additional CMOH or principal or head of the department of medicine of a medical college (if one exists in the district) and a subject expert, for issuing of the “official document for Covid-19 death”, the guidelines said.

Applications for issuing the official document and redressal of grievances are to be disposed of within 30 days of submission.