By Bond Robertson 
Conservation room: At the Seemapuri East crematorium in Delhi, Corona deaths were cremated when India was hard hit by the second wave of infections in May. Photo: Harald Henden, VG
Thus, the number of deaths linked to the epidemic could be ten times higher than what the official figures show.
studies It was conducted by the Center for Global Development, which sought to identify the causes of excess deaths in India during the pandemic.
According to official figures, 414,482 coronavirus deaths have been recorded in the country so far.
“The actual number of deaths is probably several million, not hundreds of thousands, which probably makes India’s worst human tragedy,” said Arvind Subramanian, co-author of the study and a former adviser to President Modi. New York times.
Researchers estimate that there were between 3.4 and 4.7 million more deaths than expected in India from January 2020 to June 2021.
In the study, the highest estimate of the number of epidemic-related deaths was more than four million.
The study also indicates that India was hit by the first wave in 2020 more than previously thought, and that dealing with the epidemic in earlier stages may have led to the second wave. became disastrous.
In April and May 2021, infection rates in India exploded. Hospital capacity was blown up and Corona patients died as a result Oxygen deficiency.
One crematorium in Dheli told VG that they received 10 times more corpses than usual when the second wave was at its worst.
Read the report here: Hell of death
Center Established: New Delhi’s Sikh Gurdwara Rekab Gang Sahib has set up a 400-bed center on May 10 to receive coronavirus patients with milder symptoms. Photo: Harald Henden
The authorities have it on several occasions He received criticism for his treatment pandemic, due in part to a lack of transparency and under-reporting.
More than 31 million cases of infection have been recorded in India, according to official figures. In April and May, at most 400,000 cases were recorded per day.
About 40,000 daily cases and 500 deaths are now recorded – and authorities fear the country may be hit by a third wave of infections Early in August.
Only six percent of the population of over four billion is fully vaccinated. 23 percent received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Subramanian tells the New York Times that the challenges associated with the pandemic are far from over.
Vaccines are our best hope, but the pace has to go faster, he says.