Russia overtakes Brazil to have second-highest Covid-19 death toll
Statistics show 87,527 people died from coronavirus-related causes in November, making it the deadliest month in Russia since the start of the pandemic and lifting total deaths to 658,634
30 December 2021 - 18:45
byMaria Tsvetkova and Gleb Stolyarov
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
A specialist wearing personal protective equipment sanitises a chapel inside the building of the Leningradsky railway station amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Moscow, Russia, in this October 19 2021 file photo. Picture: REUTERS/MAXIM SHEMETOV
Moscow — Russia has overtaken Brazil to have the world’s second-highest death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic, behind the US, data from Russia’s state statistics service and Reuters calculations showed on Thursday.
The statistics service, Rosstat, said 87,527 people had died from coronavirus-related causes in November, making it the deadliest month in Russia since the start of the pandemic.
Russia’s overall pandemic death toll reached 658,634, according to Reuters calculations based on Rosstat figures up to the end of November and data from the coronavirus task force for December, overtaking Brazil which has recorded 618,800 deaths.
The death toll in the US is higher, at 825,663 people, according to a Reuters tally, but its population is more than twice as big as Russia’s.
Reuters calculations also showed Russia recorded more than 835,000 excess deaths since the beginning of the outbreak in April 2020 to the end of November, compared to average mortality in 2015-2019.
Some epidemiologists say that calculating excess deaths is the best way to assess the true impact of a pandemic.
So far, Russia’s death toll has not been affected by the Omicron variant and was mostly caused by a surge of infections in October and November, which health authorities blamed on the Delta variant and a slow vaccination campaign.
On Thursday, Russian authorities ordered hospitals to prepare for a possible surge in Covid-19 cases.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Russia overtakes Brazil to have second-highest Covid-19 death toll
Statistics show 87,527 people died from coronavirus-related causes in November, making it the deadliest month in Russia since the start of the pandemic and lifting total deaths to 658,634
Moscow — Russia has overtaken Brazil to have the world’s second-highest death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic, behind the US, data from Russia’s state statistics service and Reuters calculations showed on Thursday.
The statistics service, Rosstat, said 87,527 people had died from coronavirus-related causes in November, making it the deadliest month in Russia since the start of the pandemic.
Russia’s overall pandemic death toll reached 658,634, according to Reuters calculations based on Rosstat figures up to the end of November and data from the coronavirus task force for December, overtaking Brazil which has recorded 618,800 deaths.
The death toll in the US is higher, at 825,663 people, according to a Reuters tally, but its population is more than twice as big as Russia’s.
Reuters calculations also showed Russia recorded more than 835,000 excess deaths since the beginning of the outbreak in April 2020 to the end of November, compared to average mortality in 2015-2019.
Some epidemiologists say that calculating excess deaths is the best way to assess the true impact of a pandemic.
So far, Russia’s death toll has not been affected by the Omicron variant and was mostly caused by a surge of infections in October and November, which health authorities blamed on the Delta variant and a slow vaccination campaign.
On Thursday, Russian authorities ordered hospitals to prepare for a possible surge in Covid-19 cases.
Reuters
Covid-19 stifles New Year celebrations for a second year
Daily Covid-19 cases hit record highs around the world
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Australia’s records over 10,000 daily Covid-19 cases for the first time
US to end Southern Africa travel curbs with Omicron everywhere
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.