Watch | COVID-19 and History: What Past Pandemics Tell Us About Death and Infections in India
Mitali Mukherjee
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As many of us live through our first experience of a pandemic, history is often quoted to draw examples and parallels.
In his book, The Age of Pandemics (1817-1920): How They Shaped India and the World, Chinmay Tumbe, author and faculty at The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, chronicles the many facets of cholera, plague and influenza pandemics, which claimed over 70 million lives between 1817 and 1920, with India being the epicentre in all these episodes.
He says a spike in monthly and weekly death rates will be the surest indicator of the quantum of COVID-19 deaths as death certificates may not be easily available in rural areas or in cases where the entire family has succumbed to the pandemic. Tumbe said while influenza saw the worst death ever at 20 million, the anecdotal evidence being gathered at this point could point to a death toll of 1 million or more.
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