Covid deaths: Rs 700 crore needed for compensation

The state is preparing itself to pay Rs 50,000 for each person who died due to Covid19. Roughly, the total amount is estimated to be around Rs 700 Cr going by the 1.40 lakh people who died since the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus.

The compensation is mandatory as per the provisions made in the Disaster Management Act. According to preliminary estimates, the state government will have to keep aside at least 25 percent of the total amount required from its kitty.

State hopeful of central funds

The state is confident that the central government will share 75 percent burden of the total amount as it does during all types of calamities. A court directive is also expected soon in view of a petition currently heard over the similar demand in Delhi.

According to government statistics, around 1.39 lakh have died due to the Covid19. The figure might go up to 1.40 lakh when the disbursement will begin, government sources say. Currently, the state economy is in dire straits. The burden of compensation can be shouldered only if the union government makes available 75 percent of its kitty. Had it been for the state alone to raise 100 percent, the state government would have been in big trouble, the sources say.

The state finances are in such bad shape that despite making an announcement, the state has not been able to pay compensation for the heavy downpour in the month of July. The situation only worsened due to a series of calamities be it floods, heavy rains, or cyclones and the Covid19.

A recent survey comes as a morale booster 

In the meantime, the current statistics on Covid are quite reassuring to the state government. According to a recent survey in Mumbai, antibodies exist in 78% of people who have not been vaccinated. This means that they were infected with the coronavirus and have come out of it. It has also been found that antibodies exist in 89% of vaccinated people. This is the reason the state government has allowed schools, temples, cinemas, and theatres to open, sources claim.

According to the latest figures, the daily morbidity rate in the state is 0.05 percent, which is the lowest ever. The recovery rate has also increased and the current fatality rate is 1.23 percent. Between September 1 to 21st, as many as 958 deaths were recorded, which is far less than the 29,551 deaths recorded in the month of April this year. There are less than 100 patients in 18 districts of the state. At present, there are about 41,000 active patients in the state, out of which 2.81 percent are on ventilators and 3.98 percent are on oxygen.

At present, the number of beds available with oxygen facilities in the state is more than 1 lakh 26 thousand. The ICU has 37,174 beds. 14 thousand 445 ventilators are available. There are 3.40 lakh isolation beds available for the patients. To date, the state has received 6.46 Cr doses of vaccines, of which 5.55 Cr doses are Covishield and 90.59 lakh doses are of Covaxin. The total number of people taking the first and second doses of the vaccine is 7.50 crore. Surprisingly, a lot of people did not take the second dose after taking the first dose. There are over 3 crore such people, say the figures with the public health department.

On September 23, Coronavirus claimed 61 people across the state, and 5 of them were from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation area.