New Delhi’s regional government has been accused of under reporting coronavirus deaths as the country eases its strict lockdown in an attempt to kick-start the economy. Senior doctors and hospital executives at five of the 15 New Delhi hospitals treating Covid-19 cases said many more patients were dying than official figures suggested.
The five hospitals, which responded to Financial Times requests for information on condition of anonymity, suffered at least 577 confirmed coronavirus fatalities as of June 1. The death toll rose to 654 when suspected cases – those patients who showed symptoms but died without testing – were also included.
The figures from these five hospitals alone exceeded the state government’s official tally of 523 deaths across the entire New Delhi national capital territory up until June 1. “There is systemic undercounting of deaths,” said Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy, a think-tank. “This may be seem like a good idea to manage public perceptions in the short run, but it is going to cost in the long term.”
The discrepancy in the New Delhi data will amplify fears that authorities are obscuring the true scale of India’s coronavirus crisis, limiting the ability of healthcare providers to mount an adequate response. Two of the 15 hospitals contacted by the FT declined to release their death figures because it was against government protocol. A further eight said they could not give specific data for the period up until June 1, or could not be reached for comment.