(Image source from: utswmed.org)

The second wave of coronavirus is unstoppable and the official figures are understated considering the Indian population and the huge spread. India reported the largest death toll in the world last week and the figure is an undercount as per the reports coming from the New York Times. It says getting a clear picture of the total number of infections and deaths is quite hard for India because of the poor record-keeping. Even there is no widespread testing in the country. The second layer of extrapolation is needed to track the exact number of deaths in the country as per the report. The estimated deaths and the new infections are more times higher than the official figures.

There are lakhs of people who are tested positive and are in home quarantine without informing the respective health officials or the concerned authorities. Some of them are not tested even after having the symptoms and they continued to stay at home. The families of the deceased too never disclosed the deaths. A report from the World Health Organization said that the global death tally of coronavirus is three times higher than the reported number. The reason for the undercount in the cases and the deaths in India is because of the technical, logistical and cultural reasons. Most of the reported coronavirus deaths are in rural regions and most of them are never reported.

Most of the family members are unwilling to say that their loved ones are contracted or died due to Covid. As per the report from the New York Times, four out of five deaths in India are not medically investigated. Indian population range is so wide that it is completely impossible to track the exact number of cases and the deaths of coronavirus. The New York Times concludes by saying that the infection count in India is 15 times higher than the official cases announced.

By Siva Kumar