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WHO notes good COVID-19 testing in Russia — official

At the same time, Ryan noted that Russia’s coronavirus death toll was relatively low

GENEVA, May 16. /TASS/. The World Health Organization notes the good organization of novel coronavirus testing in Russia, said Michael Ryan, the executive director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme.

"Certainly from the perspective of the Russian Federation, they have been very good at ramping up testing, at making testing more available, but it is clear that in certain areas that the number of cases is stressing the healthcare system," he said.

At the same time, Ryan noted that Russia’s coronavirus death toll was relatively low.

"There have been a relatively low number of reported deaths, and we are looking at it from the way deaths are recorded," he said. "People are struggling at how to record the deaths: are deaths recorded as confirmed cases or is the death recording related to the post-mortem diagnosis. <…> There is some confusion as to whether someone dies of a heart attack and had COVID: did they die from COVID with a heart attack or from heart attack while having COVID? If that is not done clear, we can miss COVID-19 related deaths."

"The WHO has issued very specific guidelines around the classification of mortality related to COVID-19. I point you to our guidelines on that on our website," Ryan added.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 4,543,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 303,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 1,712,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

To date, a total of 262,843 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 58,226 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 2,418 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.