4 ms·

In some places by 20x! https://i.imgur.com/VJHL2VT.jpg https://i.imgur.com/VJHL2VT.jpg

• gruez 5y ago
  how do they know a cremation was for a covid-19 victim?
  • Exmoor 5y ago
    You don't, but if the death rates are generally stable and predictable a huge increase during a COVID wave seems highly likely to be related. There have been plenty of analysis of various countries mortality rates compared to normal years. In general, the trend seems to be that poorer countries have probably missed a lot of COVID deaths due to lack of testing infrastructure and heavily rural populations. https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/coronavirus-excess-deaths-tracker https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/coronavirus-excess-...
    • zamalek 5y ago
      > You don't, but if the death rates are generally stable [...] For example: if a crematorium has historically dealt with 20 cremations a week and is now doing 100 a week, you can estimate that 80 people are dying from COVID per week. The estimate is likely to be pretty inaccurate, but it's the best source of information that there is.
      • roywiggins 5y ago
        Certainly in NYC, I recall that at the worst of the first wave, excess deaths were very correlated with registered COVID deaths and they spiked simultaneously. There were fewer registered COVID deaths than excess deaths, but during the first spike testing wasn't always done, and people who died at home didn't always get a test postmortem. When there's a COVID spike, most of the excess deaths are people dying of COVID (some might be people dying due to fear of COVID, or hospitals collapsing- arguably still "COVID fatalities" even if they don't test positive).
      • sgt101 5y ago
        >>The estimate is likely to be pretty inaccurate But let's be clear, inaccurate has different meanings - in this context if the official figure is 20 and it turns out that only 40 have died then that's 100% out on the official side and 50% out on the estimated side. In this context the high figure may have far more utility as well - by producing a more appropriate response from the authorities and society.
      • cobookman 5y ago
        I'd expect in aggregate at the country level, its fairly accurate. E.g. its unlikely deaths increased 100%+ across all of india due to existing death-causes.
      • truth_ 5y ago
        You also have to take into account how many people are not dying of Covid, but some other diseases because the healthcare system is overwhelmed by covid, and they did not get treatment. Which is immensely more sad. Most of these deaths would have been prevented, if not for Covid.
      • Spooky23 5y ago
        Exactly it an order of magnitude number that helps you assess the official numbers.
  • nmridul 5y ago
    Many people do not get admitted in hospitals (due to lack of beds etc) and they die home. Many of These "at home COVID deaths" do not get recorded as COVID.
  • vishnugupta 5y ago
    By process of elimination. Some of the places are about a thousand mile apart. There aren't too many causes that could explain a simultaneous spike in cremations at all those places coinciding with the nation wide second wave of COVID-19.
  • mathisonturing 5y ago
    The article says, "number of people being cremated at special Covid sites"
  • dartharva 5y ago
    COVID-19 victim bodies come in specialized vehicles with PPE-kit-wearing crews, at least as far as I have seen.