The official statistics of the operational headquarters on mortality from coronavirus is several times at odds with the excess mortality rate. According to Mediazona, from April to October , 120 thousand more people died in Russia than the average for this period in the last five years. At the same time, the operational headquarters during this period counted only 28.2 thousand deaths from the coronavirus. 

From April to September – the months for which there is complete Rosstat data – excess mortality in the country amounted to 106 thousand people. Rosstat itself believes that 55.6 thousand people died from coronavirus infection during this period; the operational headquarters reported only 20.7 thousand deaths. 

Demographer Alexei Raksha told Mediazone that not all excess deaths are directly caused by the coronavirus – many are associated with the overload of the healthcare system: “Emergency services are busy – someone has a heart attack, someone else has something else. Planned operations are postponed. “

As noted by Mediazona, different regions differently recognize deaths associated with the pandemic. For example, in Tuva, Komi, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Moscow and Magadan regions, almost all excess mortality is associated with coronavirus. In Chechnya, Tatarstan, Bashkiria, Lipetsk and Leningrad regions, on the contrary, the excess mortality is not officially explained in any way. 

The most difficult month for the entire period of the epidemic, writes Mediazona, was July, when the overall mortality rate in Russia increased by almost 21% compared with the average values ​​of July in previous years. In October, in 23 regions for which data are already available, the total mortality rate increased by more than 32%. Rosstat is to publish full statistics for October in early December.

(C)MEDUZA 2020