Gujarat is undercounting Covid-19 deaths, shows ‘Divya Bhaskar’ report

A story published by Gujarati newspaper Divya Bhaskar on Friday revealed the extent of underreporting of Covid-19 deaths by the state government amid the devastating second wave of the pandemic.

The report, translated into English by journalist Deepak Patel on Twitter, said that Gujarat had issued 1.23 lakh death certificates between March 1 and May 10, compared to 58,000 certificates issued in the same period last year.

This showed that the government issued 65,000 more death certificates in the March 1 to May 10 period this year. However, Gujarat government data showed that only 4,218 patients had died of Covid-19 during that time, according to Divya Bhaskar.

Gujarat issued 1.23 lakh death certificates in March 1-May 10 period this year in comparison to 58 thousand issued in the same period last year: Divya Bhaskar

This means Gujarat issued 65,085 more death certificates in March 1-May 10 period this year.

65,085.

(1/n) pic.twitter.com/9a6QZPIKHF

— Deepak Patel (@deepakpatel_91) May 14, 2021

Patel, then, highlighted district-wise numbers of death certificates issued in the March 1 to May 10 period in 2021, which were much higher than the official Covid-19 toll.

“Ahmedabad city issued 7,786 death certificates in the 71-day period last year,” Patel wrote. “It issued 13,593 death certificates in the 71-day period of 2021. Note: Gujarat government’s data says 2,126 people died…

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