Major discrepancies in Bihar death toll: Corona casualties revised to 9,429 after govt audit

New Delhi: The total number of Covid-19 fatalities in Bihar took a drastic upward leap of 3,951 in a day after the figures were revised by the state health department on Wednesday.

According to the official data provided by the state health department, the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the state was 5,458 till Tuesday, However, the revised data on Wednesday showed the death toll has mounted to 9,429.

The move came after the Patna high court flagged irregularities in death figures in Buxar district following which the state government did an audit of COVID-19 deaths at private hospitals and homes not recorded earlier.

The government has however not specified when these deaths took place, but it has provided the breakup of deaths in all 38 districts in the state.

As per the latest figures, maximum fatalities were reported in Patna district where the death toll stands at 2,303, followed by Muzaffarpur, which has recorded 609 fatalities so far. Patna also accounted for the highest number of additional deaths reported after verification on Wednesday with 1,070 new fatalities.

Bihar is one of the worst affected states by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Bihar health department, the state had 7,353 active COVID-19 cases till Wednesday, while 6,98,397 people have recovered from viral infection so far. The cumulative positive cases in the state stand at 7,15,179.