Updated figures show higher COVID deaths

MOSCOW — Russia issued updated statistics Monday on coronavirus-linked deaths which showed that 162,429 people with COVID-19 died last year, a number far higher than previously reported by government officials.

The state statistics agency, Rosstat, released its figures for December on Monday, updating its count of coronavirus-linked deaths that includes cases where the virus wasn’t the main cause of death and where the virus was suspected but not confirmed.

Out of more than 162,000 deaths between April and December, 86,498 were directly caused by confirmed COVID-19; 17,470 other deaths were likely caused by the virus, but it wasn’t confirmed by a test. In 13,524 cases, the virus “significantly”

contributed to fatal complications of other diseases, and 44,937 people tested positive for the virus but died of other causes.

Rosstat’s count is much higher than the tally reported by the Russian government’s coronavirus task force, which is reflected in the numbers released by the World Health Organization. By Jan. 1, the task force reported a total 57,555 deaths.

As of Monday, the number stood at 77,068.