India reports 3,998 Covid-19 deaths after state corrects data

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Jul 22, 2021 06:00 am

MUMBAI : India reported its highest death toll in a month yesterday - 3,998 - after its richest state reconciled its death count with 3,509 previously unreported fatalities, the Health Ministry said yesterday.

The state of Maharashtra has reported 130,753 of the country's 418,480 deaths and added 3,509 earlier deaths to its tally, the ministry said. It did not give a reason but the authorities have in the past attributed other instances of deaths going unreported to administrative errors.

Last month, Bihar state raised its death toll by more than 5,000 in a day when it included some unrecorded data. The appearance of previously unrecorded deaths has lent weight to suspicion that India's death toll is way more than the official figure. Its official tally of infections stands at 31.22 million. - REUTERS