Peru says its true COVID death toll is almost triple its official count

In a report released on Monday that combined deaths from multiple databases and reclassified fatalities, the government said that 180,764 people had died from Covid-19 through May 22, almost triple the official death toll of about 68,000. The new figure would mean that more people have died in Peru relative to its population than in Hungary and the Czech Republic, the countries with the highest official death tolls per person, according to a New York Times database. The report landed at a precarious moment for Peru’s government, just days before the second round of a closely watched presidential election.