NEW DELHI – Results of India’s first nationwide study of prevailing coronavirus infections found that for every confirmed case detected in May, authorities were missing between 82 and 130 others.
At the time, India had confirmed around 35,000 cases and over 1,000 deaths. The study released Thursday showed that 6.4 million people were likely infected.
And the virus had already spread to India’s villages, straining fragile health systems. Experts say the study confirms India’s limited and restrictive testing masked the actual toll and underlines the fact that the harsh lockdown was only able to slow the spread of the virus, not sever the chain of transmission.