MOSCOW – Russia’s updated statistics on coronavirus-linked deaths show that 162,429 people with COVID-19 had died in the pandemic last year, a number much higher than previously reported by government officials.
The data released Monday by Russia’s state statistics agency, Rosstat, were for COVID-19 deaths between April and December, including cases where the virus wasn't the main cause of death and where the virus was suspected but not confirmed.
The highest number of deaths — 44,435 — was registered by Rosstat in December, when infections in Russia soared and officials regularly reported over 27,000 daily new coronavirus cases.