Russia: St Petersburg deaths up by a third in May

Russia's second-largest city, St Petersburg, says the number of deaths there in May was about one-third higher than the same month last year

A city government website said there were 6,427 deaths in May; 4,875 deaths were reported in May 2019. It was not clear if the sharply higher death toll was connected to the coronavirus pandemic

Russia's national coronavirus taskforce says 230 deaths due to COVID-19 have been recorded in the city. Russia's comparatively low COVID-19 mortality rate — 5215 deaths out of more than 432,000 infections — has prompted skepticism at home and abroad. Russian officials say the count contains only those confirmed to have died directly of the infection, not those who tested positive for the virus but died of other causes.

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