Maharashtra revises toll by 3,509, pushes India’s daily deaths to 3,998

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 21

India on Wednesday reported the highest Covid 19 deaths — 3,998 — in a month after Maharashtra notified 3,509 previously unrecorded deaths taking the national toll to 4,18,480.

This represents a 10-fold rise in daily new deaths, with 374 reported by the country yesterday.

The Health Ministry said Maharashtra had today carried out the 14th Covid data reconciliation, pushing up the death numbers nationally.

Daily cases cross 40,000 in a week

In another development, the daily Covid cases crossed 40,000 for the first time in a week and settled at 42,015. Daily cases on Tuesday were 30,093, the lowest in 125 days

Covid cumulative cases stand at 3,12,16,337

Maharashtra’s Covid case tally rose by 2,479, while the death tally rose by 3,509 on Wednesday after the reconciliation exercise

In another development, the daily Covid cases crossed 40,000 for the first time in a week and settled at 42,015. Daily cases yesterday were 30,093, the lowest in 125 days. Covid cumulative cases stand at 3,12,16,337. Maharashtra’s Covid case tally rose by 2,479, while the death tally rose by 3,509 today after the reconciliation exercise.

Bihar had similarly reconciled Covid deaths on June 10 after the directions from the Patna HC which flagged irregularities in reported mortality figures from Buxar.

The revision by Bihar, following a 20-day auditing exercise, had also detected 3,951 additional deaths in the state.

The reconciliation of Covid deaths indicates discrepancies in currently available mortality data.

Experts have flagged underreporting of deaths. The additional reporting of deaths by Maharashtra, India’s highest Covid caseload state, came a day after Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge said in Parliament that Covid mortality was hugely underreported.

Health mMinister Mansukh Mandaviya, however, said the Centre only published the data the states provided and had never told any state to underreport.