Over 1,100 COVID-19 deaths are missing in Delhi's official records
Even as a dreadful second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic ravages India, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government is apparently under-reporting its daily death toll by huge margins. Harrowing images of non-stop mass cremations in the Indian capital have been circulating on social media for the past few days. Here are more details on this.
1,158 COVID-19 deaths may have gone uncounted
According to a report by NDTV, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's data shows that 3,096 cremations, as per COVID-19 protocols, were conducted in the city during April 18-24. However, as per the data released by the Delhi government, the total number of coronavirus-linked deaths during the said period was 1,938. Hence, as many as 1,158 deaths may have never made it to official records.
Patients who die at home not included in records
In fact, patients who die of COVID-19 at their homes are allegedly not included in the official records. A staff member at the Ghazipur Crematorium told NDTV that the allegation holds true. "If the death happened at a hospital, we know if it's COVID-19. When death happened at home, we don't know for sure, so we always put it as normal (sic)," he said.
Family members wait for hours to cremate loved ones
Adding to their suffering, family members have to wait for hours to cremate their loved ones. Manish Gupta told NDTV that his father died at home as they failed to get him admitted to any hospital. "We came at 4 am and 6 am also. And 9:30 pm yesterday...Desperate for oxygen and now desperate to cremate. This government is useless," Gupta said.
100 new cremation platforms built at a park in Delhi
To handle the flurry of dead bodies coming in daily, the authorities at the Sarai Kale Khan cremation ground had to build around 100 new cremation platforms at a nearby park. "You can see these new platforms. We will finish these by today. There are 60-70 bodies coming every day. We have a lot of pressure," construction contractor Pashupati Mandal told the news channel.
Earlier, similar reports had surfaced from MP, UP
Delhi is not the only place where COVID-19 death toll is being under-reported. A couple of weeks ago, reports suggested that the government of Madhya Pradesh was largely under-reporting its daily death count. However, the state government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, had denied the allegations. Similar reports had surfaced from Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad earlier this month.
Delhi's positivity rate touches 35%
On Monday, Delhi reported 20,201 fresh COVID-19 cases and 380 deaths. But the slight dip in the number of cases was largely due to fewer tests being conducted. Reportedly, 57,690 tests were conducted as compared to the daily average of 79,123 tests. However, the positivity rate climbed to 35% - meaning that one in every three persons tested for the infection was positive.
