MCD official puts Delhi’s COVID-19 death toll at 2,098, more than twice the AAP govt figures

At least 2,098 people died in the national capital due to novel coronavirus, more than twice the official figures reported by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, an official of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said on Thursday.

Speaking to the media here, Jai Prakash, Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), said, "From March till June 10, including all the three MCDs of Delhi, there have been 2,098 cremations of Covid-19 patients."

He added that these are numbers different from the suspected Covid-19 cases.

"These numbers are different from suspected cases. There are over 200 cases of suspected Covid-19 patients being cremated in Delhi by the three MCDs," he said.

When asked about the disparity with the official figures, Jai Prakash said that the Delhi government had issued a notice on May 16 to all the three civic bodies as the data were mismatching.

"The MHO of all of the three civic bodies on May 17 collected the data and shared with them, and since then the difference has doubled. I don't know why the Delhi government is not releasing the accurate death figures," he said.

The statement issued by the NDMC official comes in the wake of allegations levelled against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government by the opposition parties for hiding the real figures of the COVID-19 death toll in the national capital.

According to the data released by the Delhi government health department on Thursday, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the city stood at 32,810 with 984 deaths. Out of the 32,810 cases, 19,581 are actives cases while 12,245 people have been cured.