Expert raises doubts about India’s COVID fatality data

The national average on July 4 was 4.52 per cent, which came down to 3.9 per cent on July 15, which could be due to underreporting, said Dr John, adding that he used scientific methods to fatalities. He cited the example of Gujarat where the fatality rate was 7.1 per cent on July 4, but came down drastically to 3.9 per cent by July 15. In contrast, Maharashtra that had similar number on July 4 (7.4 per cent) had recorded only a marginal reduction on July 15 (7.1 per cent).

“I don’t know what method Gujarat is using to calculate fatalities… I was informed that the Gujarat government had ordered doctors not to append the words COVID-19 to those succumbing to the virus. This could be to showcase the Gujarat as a success story as scripted by the BJP,” he said.

Referring to the southern states, he said Kerala, which has the lowest fatality rate in the country, had a fatality rate of 0.87 per cent on July 4 and 0.76 per cent on July 15, while it was 2.3 per cent and 2.2 per cent for Tamil Nadu

Similarly, Andhra Pradesh recorded 2.6 per cent and 2.3 per cent on July 4 and July 15 respectively, while Karnataka showed an increase from 3.2 per cent to 4.6 per cent on both dates.

Among the states in south, only data from Telangana is suspect, according to Dr John, who noted that the State reported a steep fall from 2.7 per cent on July 4 to 1.5 per cent on July 15.