Kanpur : Men in PPE stand next to the body of a relative who died from COVID-19, before her cremation in New Delhi, May 4, 2021. Photo: Reuters/Danish Siddiqui
How many have died of COVID-19 in India? This is a very hard question to answer. The 220,000 recorded deaths (as of May 3) are a terrible catastrophe in themselves. But multiple reports from around the country confirm that the recorded fatalities are not the whole story. International data also indicates that given India’s population and the extent of disease spread we should expect many more deaths.
Even in the midst of this calamitous second wave, counting the dead is important. Low recorded COVID-19 mortality during the first surge fed government narratives on the successful handling of the epidemic, and these, in turn, might explain the complacency which preceded the devastating current surge. Arriving at credible estimates of the epidemic’s true toll could be key to mitigating further disaster.
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