In response to a petition filed in the Supreme Court, the government recently framed guidelines for issuance of death certificates for COVID-19 deaths. The guidelines specify which cases are eligible to be considered for the issue of death certificate with cause as COVID-19. Here is a detailed review which also highlights the gaps in these guidelines. The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of close to 46.4 lakh persons globally in less than two years since it was first reported in China in late 2019. India has recorded the second-highest number of cases of COVID-19 after the USA with over 3.32 crore cases. India has also recorded the third-highest number of COVID-19 deaths with more than 4.43 lakh deaths due to the pandemic, as of 14 September 2021. It is in this context, the Supreme Court recently heard writ petitions seeking compensation of Rs. 4 lakhs for the families of persons who lost their lives because of the pandemic. A writ petition was filed seeking ex-gratia compensation for families of COVID-19 victims On 30 June 2021, a special bench comprising of Justices Ashok Bhushan and M R Shah of the Supreme Court heard a plea seeking compensation to the families of persons who lost their lives due to COVID-19 or due to the post-COVID-19 complications. The petitioners cited Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act (DMA), 2005 that has a provision of minimum standards of relief to be provided to the persons affected by the disaster. The bench held that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has a statutory obligation to frame guidelines for recommending minimum ex-gratia assistance for the families of persons who died due to COVID-19 as the pandemic is notified as a disaster. The apex court directed the NDMA to issue guidelines for the ex-gratia compensation within six weeks, which was later extended to ten weeks. The government told the Supreme Court that the guidelines for determining the compensation under Section 12 of the DMA will be finalized by 23 September 2021. It is to be noted that the decision on the quantum of compensation by way of ex-gratia assistance to the family members has been left to the NDMA. Furthermore, the court also observed in this petition that there was a need for simplified procedure for issuance of a death certificate/official document in the case of a COVID-19 related death. The death certificate is to be issued to the family members of the deceased who died due to COVID-19 stating the cause of death as “Died due to COVID-19”, including if their death must have been due to other complications resulting from COVID-19. The Supreme Court further added that the guidelines should also provide for a grievance redressal mechanism for the families of the deceased if the correct/exact cause of death is not mentioned in the death certificate. MoHFW & ICMR have issued guidelines for the issuance of death certificates Following the SC’s orders, on 11 September 2021, the Central Government finally filed a compliance affidavit. As per this affidavit, the Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare along with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) have issued relevant guidelines for the issuance of death certificates for COVID-19 deaths. According to the guidelines, COVID-19 cases are those which are diagnosed through active infections tests such as RT-PCR tests, molecular tests, rapid-antigen tests or clinically determined through investigations at a hospital or in-patient facility by a treating physician, while admitted in the hospital/ in-patient facility. Deaths outside hospitals within 30 days from the day of testing will be treated as COVID-19 deaths In the guidelines, COVID-19 deaths have been defined as cases of COVID-19 which did not get resolved and resulted in deaths at home or hospitals, and where a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) in Form 4 & 4A has been issued to the registering authority, as required under Section 10 of the Registration of Birth and Death (RBD) Act, 1969. Those cases where the death takes place outside the hospital/in-patient facility 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 a death due to COVID-19. The 30 days bracket has been arrived at based on an ICMR study which found that 95% of the deaths take place within 25 days of being tested positive. Further, a COVID-19 case admitted in hospitals and continued as the same admission beyond the 30 days, and eventually succumbed to the virus will also be considered a COVID-19 death. However, deaths that occur due to poisoning, suicide, homicide, accidents, etc. will not be treated as COVID-19 deaths even if the virus infection is an accompanying condition.