6 lakh cases reported, but ICMR claims 2.43 crore people in Telangana may have had Covid-19

HYDERABAD: The real number of Covid-19 cases in Telangana could be as high as 2.43 crore against the reported figure of around 6 lakh, points out a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) which has highlighted the severity of under-reporting of Covid-19 cases by Telangana and other States in India. It may be mentioned here that the under-reporting of Covid-19 cases was flagged earlier this year by TNIE in these columns. 

On Saturday, July 31, 2021, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi shared the findings of the study, according to which the ‘Under counting factor’ of Covid-19 cases in Telangana is 42. This means that, for every Covid-19 case detected by Telangana, it missed detecting 42 positive cases or that the figures of Covid-19 cases by the Telangana government are 42 times lower than the real value. 

The undercounting factor of Telangana is higher than 12 other States including Andhra Pradesh (22). In fact, among the 21 States for which the undercounting factor has been reported in the ICMR study, the value of Andhra Pradesh is higher than just three States, indicating that the figures reported by AP are closer to reality than that of Telangana. 

Across the country, the estimated number of people infected with Covid-19 is around 92.65 crore against the reported value of around 2.82 crores. Sharing the data, Owaisi tweeted, “ICMR study says the real extent of COVID spread is FAR MORE than reported numbers. In States like Bihar, UP, MP, the majority of COVID cases weren’t counted. Govt failed in preventing 2nd wave, then deserted Indians in need. Forget providing treatment, it didn’t even care to COUNT properly”.