Russia records over 49,000 COVID deaths in August: statistics agency

Russia's Federal Statistics Agency Rosstat said on Friday that 49,389 people died of coronavirus in August—more than double the official government figure.

This would bring the agency's tally of COVID-19 deaths in Russia to over 400,000.

Russia—the fourth worst-hit country in the world in terms of COVID-19 cases—has struggled with the aggressive Delta variant and sluggish vaccination rates.

Rosstat's figure—released late on Friday—painted a far darker picture of the pandemic's toll in the country than other figures suggest, with a government tally saying 24,661 Russians died as a result of COVID-19 in August.

Government figures only take into account fatalities where the virus was established as the primary cause of death after an autopsy.

Rosstat, however, publishes figures under a broader definition for deaths linked to the virus.

Russian authorities have been accused of downplaying the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

While the number of daily infections is now on the rise, Russia hit record daily deaths several times in August.

© 2021 AFP