MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th May, 2020) There are no signs that Russia is knowingly understating its data on COVID-19 mortality rate despite articles in western media outlets stating otherwise, WHO spokeswoman in Russia Melita Vujnovic said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Financial Times newspaper reported that, according to its analysis, the total number of coronavirus-related fatalities in Russia could be 70 percent higher than the government's official data show. According to the official figures, 629 people died from COVID-19 in April in Moscow and St. Petersburg, while the newspaper said that a total of 2,073 people died above average in the two cities.
"There are no facts indicating deliberate understating [of COVID-19 mortality rate] ... At this moment, I do not see anything that would prove that Russia is knowingly not providing data about lethality from the coronavirus," the spokeswoman told the Russian 24 tv channel.
Russia has registered 10,899 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total count to 232,243. Meanwhile, the death toll in Russia has increased by 107 to 2,116, and the total number of recoveries has risen by 3,711 to 43,512. Russia's COVID-19 mortality rate is less than one percent.
