According to new data, nearly 75,000 people died of unexplained causes in Bihar in the first five months of 2021 amid the second wave of Covid-19.
This is almost 10 times the state's official pandemic death figure, raising the question of whether the state is undercounting its Covid deaths, reports NDTV.
Bihar reported about 1.3 lakh deaths in January-May 2019. According to data from the state's Civil Registration System, the figure for the same time period in 2021 was almost 2.2 lakh, showing a difference of about 82,500. More than half of this 62 per cent increase was reported in May this year.
As per a NDTV report, Bihar's official Covid death fatalities figure for January-May 2021 was 7,717, arrived at earlier this month after the state added 3,951 more to the total. Even though authorities have not specified when these deaths, as recorded in the revised figure, took place, it is being assumed they occurred in 2021. Yet, the overall number of official Covid deaths in the state is only a fraction of the excess deaths recorded by its Civil Registration System -- a difference of 74,808 to be precise.
As Bihar has historically had a poor track record when it comes to registering deaths, is the state still undercounting Covid deaths despite the revised numbers, is a key question for now.
It is the latest state where such possible undercounting is suspected. Similar trends were seen in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Delhi. Data analysed by NDTV earlier had shown there were 4.8 lakh unexplained excess deaths in these five states alone.
According to new data, nearly 75,000 people died of unexplained causes in Bihar in the first five months of 2021 amid the second wave of Covid-19.
This is almost 10 times the state's official pandemic death figure, raising the question of whether the state is undercounting its Covid deaths, reports NDTV.
Bihar reported about 1.3 lakh deaths in January-May 2019. According to data from the state's Civil Registration System, the figure for the same time period in 2021 was almost 2.2 lakh, showing a difference of about 82,500. More than half of this 62 per cent increase was reported in May this year.
As per an NDTV report, Bihar's official Covid death fatalities figure for January-May 2021 was 7,717, arrived at earlier this month after the state added 3,951 more to the total. Even though authorities have not specified when these deaths, as recorded in the revised figure, took place, it is being assumed they occurred in 2021. Yet, the overall number of official Covid deaths in the state is only a fraction of the excess deaths recorded by its Civil Registration System -- a difference of 74,808 to be precise.
As Bihar has historically had a poor track record when it comes to registering deaths, is the state still undercounting Covid deaths despite the revised numbers, is a key question for now.
It is the latest state where such possible undercounting is suspected. Similar trends were seen in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Delhi. Data analysed by NDTV earlier had shown there were 4.8 lakh unexplained excess deaths in these five states alone.
