Politics of death: There should be a nationwide demographic survey to truly measure Covid fatalities
July 22, 2021, 9:14 PM IST
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On July 20, GoI made two eye-catching observations in Parliament about the second Covid wave. It said states had reported that there were no deaths due to medical oxygen shortage, or due to lack of testing and treatment. This is plainly inconsistent with collective experience. April 2021 to June was the worst phase in the Covid trajectory, and large parts of the country were locked down as healthcare infrastructure was overwhelmed. GoI’s data showed that 2.35 lakh deaths, or 56% of all Covid fatalities till date, took place in those three months. It beggars belief that not one death was due to the oxygen supply crisis. The problem is states and hospitals are probably using record-keeping protocols to avoid grim facts.