NEW DELHI: Covid deaths reported in February crossed 15,000 on Friday, overtaking the toll in the whole of January (14,752) to register the highest fatalities in seven months since July last year.
However, previously unrecorded deaths from the first two waves of the pandemic continue creep into current records. Just 58% of the deaths in February (8,673) took place in recent days. The rest, 6,329, were fatalities from earlier months added to toll during the month.
Most of these old deaths, as many as 6,217, were reported by Kerala. The state has been reconciling Covid death claims from the past, for which compensation is being paid as per Supreme Court directions, with its official toll. In contrast, states such as Gujarat have kept the official Covid death toll separate from the claims process.
The consolidated deaths reported in February so far are the highest since July, when 24,897 fatalities were recorded during the receding phase of the deadly second wave. The highest monthly Covid toll was seen in May, at the height of the second wave, when 1,19,183 deaths were officially recorded in the country.
In February so far, Kerala leads not only in reporting old deaths but also recent ones. At 2,927, the state accounts for a third of the 8,673 fresh deaths in the country from February 1 to 18. Maharashtra has the next highest toll at 936, followed by Karnataka (759), Bengal (488), Tamil Nadu (406) and Gujarat (401).
Nationwide, compared to January, February has seen a higher number of both recent deaths — 8,673 in 18 days as opposed to 9,269 — as well as old ones. In January, 5,483 old deaths were reported as compared to 6,329 already this month. December had a higher number of old deaths, 9,441 out of an overall toll of 12,228.
Meanwhile, India reported 22,191 fresh cases on Friday, the lowest daily tally since December 31. At 195, daily deaths dipped below 200 for the first time since January 10, when the toll stood at 165. Kerala reported the highest toll at 61 (including deaths in the last few days), followed by Karnataka (19), and Maharashtra as well as Odisha (15 each).
