A NEW study has theorised that Covid-19 has caused 2,000 further deaths in Ireland than have been recorded.
Official figures show that 4,921 people have died due to the virus, but US researchers believe the total should really be over the 7,100 mark.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) says that globally, Covid-19 has been responsible for about 6.9 million deaths, which is more than double the official figure.
Their reasoning is that deaths are significantly under-reported in almost every country, and that often, deaths due to Covid-19 can be misdiagnosed as the virus can often lead to the onset of a number of immune-system-related diseases.
Back in April of last year, IHME analysts suggested that Ireland's death rate had peaked, and were criticised by Irish officials, but it turned out their analysis was fairly accurate, as was their projection of the number of deaths in Europe during the first surge of the pandemic.
In September, the Institute warned that Ireland could suffer another 1,200 Covid-19 related deaths by the end of the year if face masks weren't used more, and this indeed came to pass during the second half of January.
