A spike in “pneumonia” cases in Russia is raising questions about the country’s official coronavirus statistics, with skeptics saying the authoritarian government of Vladimir Putin is covering up the actual number of reported cases.
“I have a feeling they [the authorities] are lying to us,” Anastasia Vasilyeva, head of Russia’s Doctor’s Alliance trade union, told Reuters.
Unlike other European countries which have seen the number of coronavirus cases spike in recent weeks, Russia’s official count has remained low with just 199 reported infections. In January, Moscow reported 6,921 pneumonia infections — almost 2000 more than the same period last year. Nationally there has been a 3% increase in pneumonia cases as well.
“I don’t believe the coronavirus numbers,” a Moscow accountant named Ekaterina told the wire service. “I remember what they told us about Chernobyl at the time. It’s only now that we’re finding out what really happened.”
Since originating the Wuhan, China, last year, the coronavirus has become a global pandemic, leading to at least 286,660 infections and 11,888 deaths worldwide.