Ministry of Health Unable to Provide Clear Statistics on COVID-19 Deaths at Home vs. Hospitals

The newspaper 'Zhoghovurd' reports: The Ministry of Health has not yet been able to present clear statistics on how many people have died from coronavirus at home and how many in hospitals. 'Zhoghovurd' inquired with Minister Anahit Avanesyan about why the statistics are still unavailable. In response, the minister noted, 'Since the 'Armed' system has been implemented in phases, synchronization is currently underway. We have a working group in this regard, and we will provide additional information soon.'

A similar question was raised about a month ago by the chair of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Human Rights and Public Affairs, Taguhi Tovmasyan, who asked why there are discrepancies between the data provided by the State Statistical Committee and the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention regarding deaths; approximately 700 individuals are missing from the lists. The minister's answer was again the same, indicating that a commission has been formed to verify the data presented by the two bodies. 'There will be a report on the results,' she had said a month ago.

What the working group mentioned by Avanesyan is engaged in, perhaps only they will know. It is clear that the outcomes of their work have not been visible to anyone for more than a month. It is also evident that when the members of the working group come under the scrutiny of their overseers—parliamentarians—they do not take visible steps to resolve the ongoing issue or criticism quickly.

Thus, it turns out that the mortality statistics presented to us up to today regarding how many people have died each day from COVID-19 are actually incorrect figures.

For more details, see today's issue of the newspaper.