Nearly half of India’s virus deaths occurred in the last three months. In the last 26 days alone, the country has recorded 102,533 Covid-19 deaths. – By Philip Kitune
Some experts say the number of daily deaths may rise further. Dr Murad Banaji, a mathematician at Middlesex University London, has been tracking the pandemic closely.
In some places, even crematoriums have run out of space and have been forced to expand to makeshift sites in public parks.
Mortality data in India is poor and deaths at home often go unregistered, especially in rural areas.
There are reports of journalists counting bodies at morgues themselves, to try to get a more accurate number. Some models speculate that about a million people may have actually died.
Experts warn that the real number of fatalities might be much higher as many deaths are not officially recorded. A deadly second wave in recent weeks has overwhelmed the country’s healthcare system, with hospitals struggling to cope with the influx of patients and with critical drugs and oxygen running out.
India has recorded 26 million cases – second only to the US – and is now the epicenter of the global pandemic.
The country is also only the third in the world to record more than 300,000 deaths – behind the US and Brazil.
