Second wave: India closing in on Brazil in daily coronavirus deaths

Until a month ago, Brazil had nearly 14 deaths for every one death in India (14 : 1) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. That gap has now narrowed to under three (2.6 : 1).

India’s rising death toll is putting it on course to become the country with the highest daily death toll, shows an analysis of international numbers collated by tracker ‘Our World in Data’. This comes even as both countries have seen a surge in the number of daily deaths recorded. The United States where vaccination is well underway, has seen a significant decline in the daily number of deaths (see chart 1).

A look at the top countries in terms of new cases recorded shows India has a high positive rate. This looks at the number of tests that are positive. While numbers for Brazil were not available, a rising share of India’s tests is seen to be positive, suggesting an increased spread of the disease, though Iran and Turkey have higher numbers still (see chart 2). Both countries have lower numbers of deaths than India.

The statewise numbers show a concentration in a few states. Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh account for six out of every ten people who died of Covid-19 (see chart 3).