Russia’s mechanism for calculation of deaths due to coronavirus is suspected to be the reason behind the incredibly low reported deaths, in comparison to the reported cases. Its official death toll of 6,948 is far below many other countries, even as it has reported nearly 529,000 infections, behind only the United States and Brazil.

Even WHO stated the recorded death toll of COVID-19 deaths in Russia to be “certainly is unusual.” Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, commenting on this issue, said, “It will be important that the Russian authorities review the way in which death certification is done to reassure themselves that they are accurately certifying deaths in the appropriate way”. He added that unlike Russia, some countries’ official death count includes those who had COVID-19 but died from other causes.

Russia’s government, however, came out in defence over this accusation. Its Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova was reported saying that they hadn’t fudged any numbers, or manipulated official statistics. She added that the government has also made it mandatory for an autopsy to be done for every case where there are suspected symptoms.

Officials note that there could be several factors that contribute to the low mortality rate due to the virus in Russia. For instance, the country’s vast topography, and the shorter life expectancy of its citizens.

It is to be noted that, infections in Russia peaked later than in Europe, and deaths are now climbing more quickly.