Russian Deputy PM Golikova says mortality in Russia grew 17.9% YOY at yearend 2020
MOSCOW. Feb 8 (Interfax) - Mortality in Russia was up 17.9% year-on-year at the yearend 2020, according to preliminary data released by the State Statistics Service (Rosstat), Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said.
"According to preliminary Rosstat data, mortality in the Russian Federation was 17.9% higher in 2020 compared to 2019. This is excess mortality, which includes deaths caused by Covid-19," Golikova said at a press briefing on Monday.
The data is tentative and will be updated, she said.
Deaths in cases where the coronavirus infection was diagnosed, as of the day of Rosstat releases, account for 31% of overall excess mortality in 2020, she said. And coupled with deaths of those patients who were diagnosed with other conditions but tested positive for coronavirus, this share makes for 50% of overall excess mortality in 2020, Golikova said.
"There is a significant share of deaths registered in the Russian Federation as caused by cardiovascular diseases [...], endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases, respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia associated with Covid-19 or deaths where patients had coronavirus in a moderate or severe form, we are recording that death is caused by other illnesses but is coronavirus-related," she said.
In 2020, Russia saw levels of infant mortality decrease by 8.2% and cancer mortality by 1%. The number of deaths caused by infectious and parasitic diseases was down 9.3% year-on-year at the yearend 2020. Tuberculosis mortality rates in 2020 were 9.8% lower, HIV-associated mortality 9.1% lower, and deaths due to external causes 1.9% lower than in 2019, Golikova said.