Data suggests Covid-19 may have killed 1 in every 500 people in Goa, and 1 in every 1,000 in Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi & Puducherry. Number is 1 in 10,000 for UP, Bihar & 5 other states.

India reported its first Covid-19 case in January 2020, in Kerala. Two years later, nearly one in every 1,000 people in the state is estimated to have died in the pandemic. And it’s not just Kerala, according to the Covid data published on crowdsourcing platform covid19bharat.org (which compiles data from state-wise health bulletins), there are at least four more states and Union territories — Goa, Maharashtra, Delhi and Puducherry — where the virus has killed with almost a similar ferocity.

An analysis of all the states and UTs shows that the magnitude of Covid-19 deaths in a state is directly related to the spread of cases.

There also seems to be a direct correlation between a higher rate of mortality in the most-affected states and the level of comorbidities in their population.

However, experts say, possible gaps in Covid deaths data hampers a definite conclusion on this point.

Using the Census population projections provided by the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry for 2021, ThePrint analysed Covid-19 deaths in different states and UTs.

Goa, a state heavily dependent on tourism, appears to have been the hardest-hit.

The Census projections suggest Goa has a population of about 15.59 lakh. By 12 January 2021, the state had reported 3,539 Covid deaths. The number is far lower than the fatalities in neighbouring Maharashtra, 1.4 lakh. However, when scaled to population, this suggests one in at least every 500 people has died of Covid-19 in the state.

The equivalent figure for Maharashtra is 1 in every 1,000 people.By Wednesday, about 1,41,701 people had died of Covid in the state, which has a projected population of about 12.43 crore.

Goa is followed by Kerala, where after reconciliation of unreported deaths,the Covid-19 toll reached above 50,000 Wednesday. Kerala’s current population is projected to be around 3.5 crore, which suggests Covid-19 has killed one in every 1,000 people.

Read more- https://theprint.in/health/from-goa-to-maharashtra-what-covid-deaths-say-about-states-non-communicable-disease-burden/802811/?amp