Families go to the Civil Registry to certify alleged deaths from Covid; They seek to access a program that gives 11 thousand pesos for funeral expenses.
Juchitán.— José Alberto Jiménez Velásquez works in the offices of the Civil Registry of Juchitán. It happened on a day like any other when a citizen approached to request his help to change the cause of death on the death certificate of one of his relatives.
The specific request was that the respiratory failure recorded in the document become Covid-19 and was accompanied by an offer.
If the official accepted, the citizen promised to give him part of the money that he would collect from the federal government, through the program Support for Funeral Expenses to Relatives of People Deceased by Covid-19. José Alberto rejected it and notified it.
This is how this official of the Civil Registry of Juchitán tells only one of the cases that have been presented to him. He assures that he not only refused but also suggested that the citizen bring an official probative document, such as the opinion of a laboratory, which specifies that the patient died from Covid-19 if it was true the legal department of the institution would change the cause of death. The applicant left and did not return.
According to the records of the state agency, since December, when the federal government announced the program that grants an amount of 11,460 pesos to help families who faced expenses derived from funeral services after having lost a loved one due to the pandemic, at least 40 families have approached the offices of the Juchitán Civil Registry requesting this procedure: the change of the cause of death in death certificates that specify atypical pneumonia, suspicion of Covid-19 and respiratory insufficiency.
The Civil Registry is clear in stating that it is not responsible for certifying the cause of death of a person and that its function is limited to transcribing in the certificates what is documented by a doctor or a health institution.
According to their records, in 2020 a total of 976 people died in Juchitán, of which about 150 had Covid-19 as the cause of death; another 300 were certified as atypical pneumonia, respiratory insufficiency, or suspected virus.
“We cannot alter the certificates, we cannot change the causes of death. We ask you to bring a document proving that the laboratory results tested positive for Covid-19, only then does the legal authority authorize the change the causes of death on the platform. We know that many died without having the laboratory result and it came after the death occurred.
“In those cases, they must bring that document; However, until the first days of January, no one who requested it returned with the supporting documents, ”explains José Alberto Jiménez.
Change in causes
Last December, many of the families who approached the Civil Registry to request a death certificate asked for a lot of secrecy in the term to be used in the cause section, since they did not want to be discriminated against or rejected by the neighbors if it was used the word Covid-19.
That changed when the government launched the support program, so as of December the number of certificates in which “Covid-19” can be read increased.
In the first months of the pandemic, between June and July 2020, in this Zapotec city, the deaths certified by the new coronavirus were few. According to the state official, mainly because there was no certainty in the diagnosis.
Because many people did not undergo the tests, since most did not go to the hospitals due to the fear of being intubated and not being able to say goodbye to their relatives, so they died at home, and also due to shame to be singled out.
“But there has been a very interesting phenomenon since December, the number of Covid-19 certificates is now much higher.
“Somehow it is no longer hidden either by the family or by the doctors, who already have greater access to laboratory tests or have more information to determine if the symptoms suffered by the patient are related to Covid,” emphasizes the official.
According to the federal government, to access the support of 11 thousand pesos, parents, children or spouses must have a death certificate in which it is specified that the cause of death was from Covid-19; Also, declare under protest of saying the truth that these resources will be used to support the family economy, for funeral expenses, as well as to prove the relationship.
Juchitán.— José Alberto Jiménez Velásquez works in the offices of the Civil Registry of Juchitán. It happened on a day like any other when a citizen approached to request his help to change the cause of death on the death certificate of one of his relatives.
The specific request was that the respiratory failure recorded in the document become Covid-19 and was accompanied by an offer.
If the official accepted, the citizen promised to give him part of the money that he would collect from the federal government, through the program Support for Funeral Expenses to Relatives of People Deceased by Covid-19. José Alberto rejected it and notified it.
This is how this official of the Civil Registry of Juchitán tells only one of the cases that have been presented to him. He assures that he not only refused but also suggested that the citizen bring an official probative document, such as the opinion of a laboratory, which specifies that the patient died from Covid-19 if it was true the legal department of the institution would change the cause of death. The applicant left and did not return.
According to the records of the state agency, since December, when the federal government announced the program that grants an amount of 11,460 pesos to help families who faced expenses derived from funeral services after having lost a loved one due to the pandemic, at least 40 families have approached the offices of the Juchitán Civil Registry requesting this procedure: the change of the cause of death in death certificates that specify atypical pneumonia, suspicion of Covid-19 and respiratory insufficiency.
The Civil Registry is clear in stating that it is not responsible for certifying the cause of death of a person and that its function is limited to transcribing in the certificates what is documented by a doctor or a health institution.
According to their records, in 2020 a total of 976 people died in Juchitán, of which about 150 had Covid-19 as the cause of death; another 300 were certified as atypical pneumonia, respiratory insufficiency, or suspected virus.
“We cannot alter the certificates, we cannot change the causes of death. We ask you to bring a document proving that the laboratory results tested positive for Covid-19, only then does the legal authority authorize the change the causes of death on the platform. We know that many died without having the laboratory result and it came after the death occurred.
“In those cases, they must bring that document; However, until the first days of January, no one who requested it returned with the supporting documents, ”explains José Alberto Jiménez.
Change in death
Last December, many of the families who approached the Civil Registry to request a death certificate asked for a lot of secrecy in the term to be used in the cause section, since they did not want to be discriminated against or rejected by the neighbors if it was used the word Covid-19.
That changed when the government launched the support program, so as of December the number of certificates in which “Covid-19” can be read increased.
In the first months of the pandemic, between June and July 2020, in this Zapotec city, the deaths certified by the new coronavirus were few. According to the state official, mainly because there was no certainty in the diagnosis.
Because many people did not undergo the tests, since most did not go to the hospitals due to the fear of being intubated and not being able to say goodbye to their relatives, so they died at home, and also due to shame to be singled out.
“But there has been a very interesting phenomenon since December, the number of Covid-19 certificates is now much higher.
“Somehow it is no longer hidden either by the family or by the doctors, who already have greater access to laboratory tests or have more information to determine if the symptoms suffered by the patient are related to Covid,” emphasizes the official.
According to the federal government, to access the support of 11 thousand pesos, parents, children or spouses must have a death certificate in which it is specified that the cause of death was from Covid-19; Also, declare under protest of saying the truth that these resources will be used to support the family economy, for funeral expenses, as well as to prove the relationship.
Likewise, the period to request it is one year from the date of death of the relative provided that he or she has died after March 18, 2020, and until the publication of the official declaration of the end of the health emergency.
Source: eluniversal.com.mx
