India Death Data Shows Small Jump in 2020 Despite Covid Outbreak
- Government releases data ahead of the WHO Covid deaths study
- Data shows total deaths rose 6.2% in pandemic’s first year
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India said that deaths in 2020 rose at a slower pace than previous years despite the proliferation of the novel coronavirus, in a data release that will likely add to long-standing skepticism over the government’s official Covid figures.
The country recorded a total of 8.12 million deaths in 2020, a 6.2% increase from the year before. That compares with a year-on-year increase of almost 10% in 2019 and 7.5% in 2018 -- the pre-pandemic, Covid-free years -- data show.