Following accusations from the Opposition that the government has been hiding the real number of deaths from COVID-19, doctors Artan Koni, Dritan Ulqinaku and Director of Emergency Skender Brataj have sought to clarify the way casualties are recorded.
On TV show ‘Open’ last night, they explained the process that is followed each time a COVID-19 patient dies.
“We do six years of schooling and four years of specialization to write this certificate [death certificate]. Only the correct diagnosis is allowed to be placed on the death certificate. Only the PCR confirms it. If someone is on their deathbed and has a fever we cannot just say it’s COVID-19,” he said.
Koni added:
“[The way deaths are reported] is a worldwide debated because COVID-19 deaths can be reported in two ways. Some places mark suspected and some confirmed. Some countries have had few deaths, then reverted to figures and increased them. For me, it should be done as the WHO says; making confirmed and suspected.”
“There is no manipulation of figures by doctors,” he concluded.
Brataj stated that only the PCR test can confirm if a case is from COVID-19 or not.
A representative of the Democratic Party Gazmend Koduzi also appeared on the show and presented the certificate of a COVID-19 victim which he claims was not reported by the government.
Chairman of the PD Lulzim Basha previously claimed that the government, not doctors, were underreporting the number of deaths from COVID-19. He called for SPAK to investigate the matter. The government denies the claims and called it an attack on doctors.
