For months, India has been struggling to contain the coronavirus epidemic with limited success.
The country of 1.3 billion people has the second highest number of cases globally (over 4. million), and the third highest number of deaths (over 75,000), according to Johns Hopkins University.
But India’s reported mortality rate – calculated by the number of deaths per 100 confirmed cases – is surprisingly low compared to other countries with high transition rates.
India’s Covid-19 mortality rate is 1.7%. In this regard, the same rate US. In about 3%, in the UK 11.7%, and in Italy 12.6%, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The Indian government claims that India’s low mortality rate is a sign of its success in handling the crisis, and uses the figure to support its decision to lift some coronavirus sanctions.
But some scientists in India Be warned that numbers are incomplete and misleading – and relying on them to reopen a country can make matters worse.
So what’s behind the numbers?
Coronavirus cases may increase in India, while mortality is declining.
Some experts warn that the data is full of gaps: India has a weak, under-funded public health infrastructure, and over the years has failed to accurately record the deaths of its citizens. While India is not facing an epidemic, 86% of deaths across the country are recorded in government systems.
India is not counting all Kovid deaths: There is also the issue of the death of Kovid due to inadequate testing and poor medical coding. India has expedited its testing, but it still has one of the lowest per capita testing rates in the world. Even if a Covid-19 patient has tested positive before dying, they will not be considered a Covid-19 death if they have other predisposing conditions, such as diabetes or cancer.
Increased testing, creating misleading mortality: With more tests, officials are looking for more cases. But the death rate is measured in terms of the total number of confirmed cases – so the rate will go down even if the death rate remains the same as the case grows.
Daily deaths are really on the rise: Even if the death rate is declining, it does not mean that the death toll is declining. Deaths have risen from about 750 a day in early August to more than 1,000 a day this week.
Read the full story:
.
