74,000 Missing Deaths: Tracking the True Toll of the Coronavirus Outbreak

At least 74,000 more people have died during the coronavirus pandemic than the official Covid-19 death counts report, a review of mortality data in 24 countries shows — providing a clearer, if still incomplete, picture of the toll of the crisis.

Over the last two months, far more people have died in most of these countries than in previous years, The New York Times found. The totals include deaths from Covid-19 as well as those from other causes, likely including people who could not be treated as hospitals became overwhelmed.

These numbers undermine the notion that many people who have died from the virus may soon have died anyway. In Britain, which has recorded more Covid-19 deaths than any country except the United States, more than 130,000 people have died since mid-March — 57,000 more people than usual, and about 16,000 more than have been captured by official death statistics. Continue reading.