31% Americans believe coronavirus numbers are being over-reported: Poll
People cross the street in front of a protest sign against the healthcare system, in Huntington Beach, California, on July 19, 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The United States continues to be the hardest-hit country by COVID-19, lodging in 1,000 deaths in the last 24 hours. It also has the world’s highest number of infections and deaths - more than 142,000 people have died of the virus in the country. California alone now has 400,000 cases of coronavirus.
However, a large section of people in the US do not believe these numbers. According to them, these are inflated.
A poll undertaken by Axios-Ipsos revealed that over 30 per cent respondents do not believe the numbers are real. They believe lesser Americans are dying than shown on record.
Whopping 31%
The 31 per cent pool of respondents signifies a surge in the scepticism surrounding American numbers, which stood at 23 per cent in May 2020.
This may be attributed to media consumption habits, the poll added. A whopping 62 per cent of Fox News watchers claims the statistics are inflated, while 48 per cent who identified with no single source of news believed the numbers do not reflect reality.On the other hand, only 7 per cent of CNN and MSNBC watchers felt the numbers were not real.
An earlier CNN report showed how denial surrounding the impact of the virus has increased in the US, right in the midst of ever-growing cases in the country, suggesting a dangerous trend.
Besides the federal government, the COVID-19 numbers are compiled by independent outlets based on data received from hospitals, local medical examiners, and coroners officers.
Underreporting or overreporting?
However, the total opposite of what Americans believe is happening in the country. Due to limited knowledge about the virus and new information coming in everyday, many deaths are falsely attributed to other ailments that may have qualified as co-morbid coronavirus-related deaths.
The global medical discourse has constantly acknowledged underreported cases instead of over reported cases. Testing more is actually considered a good thing, for it makes identification and tracking of hotspots possible, which can then prevent further transmission of the virus.
The country has almost 4 million cases of coronavirus. An additionally 60,000 new cases were added on Monday. This is over four times the pan-Europe figure.
Reiterating his previous bizarre claim that the virus would “simply disappear”, Trump pitched the magical disappearance theory again during an interview on Sunday.
Over the last two months, Republicans in the US have put forward claims of over reported cases in the country. In the aftermath of this, all hospitals are now submitting medical records to the federal Department of Health and Human Services, as opposed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Following US are Brazil and India in terms of infections.