Covid may have claimed up to five million lives in India

FILE PHOTO: Relatives cremate the bodies of persons who died due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a crematorium ground in Giddenahalli village on the outskirts of Bengaluru, India, May 2, 2021. REUTERS/Samuel Rajkumar

NEW DELHI: India’s actual death toll from Covid-19 could range between 1.3 million to a staggering 5 million, with even the most conservative estimate putting its tally at more than double the U.S., the highest recorded in the world so far.

The numbers, derived from research models and local authority data, range from three to 10 times the country’s official count, adding to evidence that the true cost of India’s outbreak has been massively under-reported.