Russia has admitted having the world's third highest Covid death toll with more than 186,000 fatalities — three times higher than previously acknowledged and a higher per-capita rate than in Britain or America. Rosstat gave no explanation for the difference but Russia's official figures usually come from health officials based on deaths where Covid was found to be the cause only after an autopsy. The revised figure means only the US (330,000) and Brazil (191,000) have suffered more coronavirus deaths than Russia. Doubts about Russia's official toll have been aired for months because of an apparently low mortality rate, which the Russian government claimed was because the later arrival of the virus gave it more time to prepare. The official toll suggested that the average death toll in Russia had never risen above 600 a day, a lower level than in major Western European countries, despite its 145million population which dwarfs any EU country or Britain.

Source: Daily Mail December 29, 2020 09:48 UTC