Pending registrations pushed up July Covid-19 death figures: Govt

A day after DH reported that July 2020 saw an abnormally high number of registered deaths compared with previous years, the state government attributed the sharp rise in fatalities to pending registrations.

The government statement, however, did not contest the death figures published by this newspaper and instead pointed out that the lockdown and a lack of transport during March, April, and May had prevented people from registering the deaths of their loved ones.

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"These deaths were registered in July," the statement said.

The nationwide lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic began on March 25 and officially ended 75 days later, on June 7. However, interstate and inter-district travel and a few other activities had resumed much earlier, on May 3.