DW: Coronavirus: Russian death toll statistics provoke some disbelief
Russia has registered more than half a million coronavirus infections, making the country the third most-affected in the world. But the official death toll is under 8,000. Could some figure-fiddling be going on?
In Anna Klochkova's living room there is a photo of her mother, Galina Oleinik. When the latter became ill with COVID-19, Klochkova said she had to plead with doctors to take her mother to hospital.
Oleinik finally died in hospital in the Yaroslavl region on May 21. She had worked as a receptionist in a health care center in Pereslavl-Zalessky, where she was probably infected by the novel coronavirus. There was no protective clothing provided at her place of work. "I sewed my mother four-layered masks with elastic bands myself," said Klochkova.
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WNU Editor: I know in my mother's home town of Vyazma (80 kilometres west of Moscow), there was a period of time where the number of Covid-19 fatalities remained constant for about a week, but the hospitals were full of patients dying from a respiratory disease with the symptoms of Covid-19. The old and elderly were specifically vulnerable. If I was to hazard a guess. My gut tells me that the true number of fatalities is probably four to five times the official Kremlin number. There is also blow-back being directed at Putin for his handling of the crisis. Everyone I know in Russia are frustrated with him. That what he says bares no resemblance to what is happening on the ground.
