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VIRUS-WHO-DEATHS
Excess deaths due to pandemic up to three times higher than reported Covid toll: WHO
GENEVA, May 21, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Up to three times more people have died due to the pandemic than indicated by the officially reported Covid deaths, the World Health Organization said Friday.
“Total deaths are at least 2-3 times higher than officially reported,” Samira Asma, WHO Assistant Director-General in charge of data, told reporters as the UN health agency released an annual report on global health statistics.
In 2020, it found there had been at least three million excess deaths due directly or indirectly to Covid-19, while the official number of Covid deaths was 1.8 million at the end of the year.
BSS/AFP/MMA/1449HRS