Post Mortem of Press Releases of the First 300 COVID-19 Deaths in Sri Lanka

TLDR: The analysis of press releases of COVID-19 deaths can provide useful information about the mortality pattern, which is recommended to be carried out regularly.

Abstract: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) had massive health, economic, social, and fiscal demands on governments. Communicating about the COVID-19 deaths to the general public by the governments is a challenging task. Department of Government Information (DOGI) communicated about the COVID-19 deaths in Sri Lanka by publishing daily press releases online and in other audio-visual media. The objective of this study was to examine the DOGI press releases of the first 300 COVID-19 deaths in Sri Lanka in retrospect. The information on COVID-19 deaths and associated factors were extracted and analyzed from the press releases. Eighty-nine press releases issued from 25.05.2020 to 30.01.2021 on the first 300 COVID-19 deaths were analyzed. Out of the 300 deaths, the information was available on 271 out of 300 deaths (90.33%) in the DOGI press releases we studied. For the large majority (264, 97.41%) of the deaths, the Director General of Health Services was stated as the source of information. The majority of the persons who died were over 60 (n = 191, 70.48%). Most of the persons who died from COVID-19 were males, n = 168, 61.99%, and were from the Colombo district (n = 165, 60.88%). Most of the deaths (n = 177, 65.31%) have occurred while the patient was taking treatment in a hospital. The most common comorbidity reported among the persons who died of COVID-19 was hypertension (n = 24, 8.86%). Publication of written press releases summarizing the information on COVID-19 deaths in Sri Lanka is a best practice in reporting mortality and communicating risk. The analysis of press releases of COVID-19 deaths can provide useful information about the mortality pattern, which is recommended to be carried out regularly.