Why have coronavirus deaths in India suddenly shot up?
- The Covid-19 death toll in the country has increased more than 25 per cent in the past week
- While cemeteries are overwhelmed, local authorities are accused of undercounting and competing to report as few fatalities as possible
Between Tuesday and Wednesday, the death toll shot up by 2,000 – a daily high compared to the several hundred usually reported – after the state of Maharashtra, where the financial capital Mumbai is located, and New Delhi, the densely-populated political capital, submitted revised death tallies.
As infections grew in mid-April, Maharashtra announced all fatalities in which the virus was a suspected cause would be scrutinised by a five-member audit committee of health experts before being confirmed as a Covid-19 death. The committee is meant to ascertain the cause of death especially in cases of patients who have underlying conditions such as heart issues and diabetes. Other countries have faced similar challenges in determining the cause of death in patients with pre-existing illnesses.
While Maharashtra’s current official Covid-19 death toll is 5,751, Banaji believed it could possibly be as high as 10,000.
