ALMATY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th May, 2021) The Kazakh Ministry of Health on Sunday dismissed data presented by the US Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) that claims the real death toll from the coronavirus significantly exceeds the figures provided by the authorities.
Earlier this week, the IHME published its estimations of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths in different countries based on a new approach. The institute included Kazakhstan in the top 20 countries with the highest numbers of COVID-19 fatalities. According to the IHME, the real number of COVID-19 deaths in the country amounts to 81,696 instead of the reported 5,620, with the mortality rate per 100,000 totaling 444.2 instead of 30.6
"Since the outbreak of the pandemic in the Republic of Kazakhstan, 6,575 people died from the coronavirus, not 81,696, as reported by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation," the ministry said in a press release, noting that 4,729 people died in 2020 and 1,846 in the first four months of 2021.
According to preliminary statistics, the number of deaths in Kazakhstan in 2020 compared to 2019 increased by 21.8%, or by 29,124, which also refutes the figures presented by the institute, the ministry added.
