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.