India’s COVID-related deaths per million higher than S Asian nations due to multiple factors: Govt

Multiple factors may have contributed to India reporting higher COVID-19 related deaths per million population than other South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the government said on Tuesday.

According to Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey comparison of deaths per million may not be apt as there are factors such as varied geography, case definitions, surveillance, testing and reporting protocols.

To a question on whether it is a fact that COVID-19 related deaths per million population in India is much higher than that in other South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, he said in Rajya Sabha, “Yes. Comparison of deaths per million may not be apt as there are multiple factors that may contribute to this observation.”

These factors are “varied geographies, island nation, case definitions, surveillance, testing and reporting protocols, attribution of death etc”, he said in a written reply.

Choubey said an analysis of countries that have reported higher number of cases, however, indicates that the deaths per million population in India is among the lowest.

India has recorded 112 deaths per million population, while the US has reported 1,347, the UK 1,533, Spain 1,247, Brazil 1,044 and Russia 495.