Peru now the worst-affected nation by covid per capita after death toll triples

One of the most covid battered countries in the world has revealed a shocking increase in the number of fatalities linked to the virus.

Peru has more than doubled its official coronavirus death toll, raising it from 69,000 to more than 180,000, the government said overnight.

The toll was adjusted from 69,342 to 180,764 on the advice of a panel of Peruvian and international experts, Prime Minister Violeta Bermudez told reporters in Lima.

The shocking increase means the Latin American nation of 32.6 million people is now the has the worst death rate per capita in the world.

Peru is now the worst affected nation per capita. Picture: Tatiana de Nevo / AFP

Only Brazil and Mexico have reported higher overall death tolls from the disease in the region

Experts had long warned that the true death toll was being undercounted in official statistics.

Based on population, however, Peru’s per capita death toll is now the highest in the world and now more than doubles that of Brazil, according to Johns Hopkins data.

Before the revised death toll, Hungary had the worst per capita death toll.

“We think it is our duty to make public this updated information,” Peruvian Prime Minister Bermudez said.

“What is being said is that a significant number of deaths were not classified as caused by COVID-19,” Health Minister Oscar Ugarte said, adding that the criteria for assigning the new coronavirus as a cause of death were changed.

Doctors visit a patient in Chosica, east of Lima. Picture: Ernesto Benavides / AFP

Mr Ugarte said that previously only those who “had a positive diagnostic test” were considered to have died from the virus, but other criteria have since been brought in

Mateo Prochazka, one of the researchers, said the team used four different methods to determine cause of death.

“The first criterion is the one with the greatest certainty, the virological one, in the case of people who have a positive test, the second is the rapid test,” Prochazka reportedly said.

“We also used serological [tests] because, in the beginning of the pandemic, this system was used a lot,” he said.

“Then there are radiological and epidemiological [tests], through which there is no proof, but compatible symptoms are found,” he said, “we considered that they should be accounted for.”