Kolkata’s COVID-19 deaths in 2021 could be 4 times higher

Excess deaths data shows deaths could have been more than twice the recorded number in 2020.

If data on certified deaths in Kolkata in 2021 so far are any indication, the number of excess deaths compared to previous years was as high as 4.5 times the official recorded figure of 1,371 COVID related deaths, indicating a much higher toll from COVID-19 . Excess deaths were estimated from data on death certification from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation accessed by The Hindu. In April and May 2021 (till May 27) of the second wave alone, excess deaths were as high as 6.87 times the officially recorded figure of 1,198 deaths. During this period when the second wave raged in Kolkata, there were 8,234 “excess deaths” compared to 1,198 reported COVID19 deaths. These “excess deaths” were calculated as the difference between the 17,587 certified deaths in April and May 2021 and the average number of certified deaths in the same period in the pre-pandemic years between 2015-2019 (9,353).