Moscow reported at least 5,260 coronavirus-related deaths in May, the city’s Department of Health said in a statement Wednesday.
“In May, Moscow registered 15,713 deaths, which is 5,715 cases more than in May of last year (9,998),” the department said, adding that the three-year average of mortality is 9,914.
Covid-19 “as the main or concurrent cause of death” was recorded in 5,260 of those deaths, officials said.
The city’s health officials say they have included “even most debatable cases” in this statistic, adding that only in 2,757 cases coronavirus has been recorded as the main cause of death.
The department estimated overall mortality from coronavirus to be 2% of confirmed cases if only cases where Covid-19 was the main cause are counted, and 3.8% if all Covid-19 cases are included, arguing that the number is still much lower than in other world capitals.
Remember: Russia’s official number of Covid-19 deaths has been relatively low compared to countries with similar numbers of overall infections, and observers have questioned official counting methods that permit ascribing deaths in patients who tested positive for coronavirus to other causes such as terminal illnesses and other underlying conditions.
In late May, Moscow officials revised the Covid-19 death toll for April upward, raising the documented number of fatalities attributed to coronavirus to 1,561 from 636 for the month.
CNN and other news outlets reported in mid-May that the city had seen a mortality spike in April, adding an estimated 1,800 excess deaths in comparison with previous year averages.
