Question NW1767 to the Minister of Health
19 May 2022 - NW1767
Clarke, Ms M to ask the Minister of Health
(1)Whether any audit has been done of the COVID-19 deaths in each province; if not, why not; if so, what was the outcome of the audit for each province; (2) whether the specified outcomes aligned and/or are congruous with the reported deaths on a daily basis by his department and that were communicated to the public at large; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
a) The department reports the reported deaths of every person that has been diagnosed with COVID-19 at the time of death, whether the COVID-19 is the cause or incidental to a death from any other condition. There is no audit done on reported deaths in hospitals.
b) Deaths are reported by the attending clinicians at public and private facilities at the time of death, therefore on a daily basis, and the reports are captured into the national data base (DATCOV) as they are reported. A corpse may not be released to the undertakers without the death certificate. The deaths reported are available on a daily basis (https://www.nicd.ac.za/diseases-a-z-index/disease-index-covid-19/surveillance-reports/) and are reported in the national media daily. The department monitors which hospitals are reporting on DATCOV to ensure completeness of data.
END.