Variation in COVID‑19 Data Reporting Across India: 6 Months into the Pandemic

Abstract

India reported its first case of COVID-19 on January 30,
2020. Six months since then, COVID-19 continues to be a growing crisis
in India with over 1.6 million reported cases. In this communication,
we assess the quality of COVID-19 data reporting done by the state and
union territory governments in India between July 12 and July 25, 2020.
We compare our findings with those from an earlier assessment conducted
in May 2020. We conclude that 6 months into the pandemic, the
quality of COVID-19 data reporting across India continues to be highly
disparate, which could hinder public health efforts.