MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/. The number of coronavirus-related deaths in July in Moscow was by half less than in June, the city’s health department said on Friday.
"A total of 10,773 deaths were registered in Moscow in July 2020 (by 716 deaths more than in July 2019 and by 1,040 more than July’s average: 9,658 in 2017, 9,483 in 2018, and 10,057 in 2019)," it said.
"COVID-19 was the key or concurrent cause of death in 1,706 cases, accounting for the entire excess mortality in July. However, the number of such deaths in July was by 50% less than in June, and by 68% less than in May," it said.
Thus, the coronavirus infection was the key cause of death in 742 cases in July, against 1,605 in June and 2,757 in May. "This number includes cases when patients tested negative for the coronavirus (both when alive and post-mortem) but the autopsy and clinical symptoms indicated the coronavirus infection as a key cause of death (141 cases). It means that even questionable cases were included into the coronavirus mortality statistics. No cases have been included into the statistics of regular pneumonias deaths for three months in a row," the health department said.
As many as 964 coronavirus-positive patients died from other diseases. In 466 cases, coronavirus had "a significant influence on the development of the underlying disease and its deadly complications," it added.
Thus, according to the health department, the coronavirus mortality rate in Moscow since the epidemic outbreak was from 2.4% to 4.9%, depending on the calculation method. "Coronavirus mortality in Moscow is 2.4% for cases when it was the principal cause of death, and 4.9% when COVID-19 was a principal or concurrent disease," it explained.