The expert commented on the comparison of data on mortality from coronavirus in the world

“There are currently no general recommendations by the World Health Organization on how to determine death from a coronavirus. There are a lot of discrepancies in different countries, ”she said.

According to her, in many countries they compare not death from a coronavirus, but the total number of deaths, which increased compared to the previous period.

“The Department of Health clearly showed this, recalculation was done, it was shown that if all deaths are attributed to death from a coronavirus and the statistics for, say, New York or London are recounted in a similar way, then the situation in Moscow is still much better,” said the specialist.

She also answered the question about the mortality rate in France and the UK, where this figure is higher.

“When we talk about a developed healthcare system, we still need to consider how this system does not cope with current problems in a calm situation, but how it copes with mortality in crisis situations. And it turns out that the health system, which for the most part is in the hands of the state, copes with such risk situations much better. This has been shown by China, it is shown by Russia, ”she said.

Earlier, the Moscow Department of Health denied media reports about underestimation of mortality statistics from COVID-19 in the capital.

As Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova noted, it is unprofitable for Russian hospitals to underestimate mortality data for patients with coronavirus infection. In particular, this is due to the tariffs for the treatment of such patients.

As stated in the Moscow Department of Health, the published statistics on the number of deaths in the city allowed some publications to suggest that the increase in the number of deaths is associated with COVID-19, but "the numbers alone do not reveal the cause of death." 

The department indicated that an autopsy was carried out in each case, so there they were sure of the accuracy of the data.

As noted in the department, an increase in mortality rates is natural in the spread of acute respiratory viral infections, which cause complications of background diseases.

They emphasized that “other countries show similar statistics,” from which it follows that the number of deaths from coronavirus is less than the overall increase in mortality.