Peru more than doubles its official Covid-19 death toll, leaving it with world's worst death rate

[Judi Lynn]

1. Peru has world's worst per capita Covid toll after death data revised

Updated figures give country a per capita death toll of 500 per 100,000 people – double that of Brazil

Reuters and Associated Press in Lima
Tue 1 Jun 2021 02.46 EDT

Peru has almost tripled its official Covid-19 death toll to 180,764, after a government review, making it the country with the highest death rate per capita, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Peru has been among the hardest hit Latin American countries during the pandemic, with its hospitals overcrowded and demand for oxygen outstripping availability.

The government said it would update its death count, which was 69,342 as of Sunday, in part because of a lack of testing that made it difficult to confirm whether a person had died due to the virus or some other cause.

According to Johns Hopkins data, Hungary had the highest number of Covid-19 deaths per capita, at about 300 per 100,000 people. With its updated death toll, Peru stands at more than 500 Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 people.

“We think it is our duty to make public this updated information,” said the Peruvian prime minister, Violeta Bermúdez, at a news conference announcing the result of the review.

“What is being said is that a significant number of deaths were not classified as caused by Covid-19,” the health minister, Óscar Ugarte, said. Ugarte said that previously only those who had received a positive diagnostic test were considered to have died from the virus, but other criteria have since been incorporated.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/01/peru-has-worlds-worst-per-capita-covid-toll-after-death-data-revised