What Was the Reason for Presenting Incorrect Death Data? ‘Hayots Ashkharh’

'Hayots Ashkharh' newspaper reports that the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia, failing to comply with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's directive to correct data discrepancies within a month, released a statement yesterday, January 18 (the directive was given on December 2), indicating that 'the ministry has rectified the inconsistencies in the data on deaths from coronavirus.'

However, the ministry has not provided any numerical specifics regarding the discrepancies, which are not just numbers, but human lives and destinies. According to the Chair of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Human Rights Protection and Public Affairs, Taguhi Tovmasyan, the discussion concerns more than 700 cases of incorrect death reporting, which, for Avanesyan, is merely a 'data correction' or, as Pashinyan put it, +/− 700 deaths.

The Ministry of Health has not clarified what the reasons were for the sloppy work and misreporting of death statistics. Who is responsible, and what penalties will be imposed for this grave error? Even until the last moment, Avanesyan has not disclosed who the experts were that comprised the 'data correction' committee.

Recall that in October, when Tovmasyan was speaking out about the problem, Avanesyan stated that the committee had already been formed and was examining the inaccuracies. This same type of response was provided by the minister to Prime Minister Pashinyan, but now two months later. It turns out that for two months, he has convinced everyone that a committee examining the inaccuracies in death figures had been established and was functioning. However, as of this moment, he still hasn’t clarified when and with what composition the committee was formed and operated.

The contradiction between the official information from the Ministry of Health and the National Statistical Service is also being investigated by the Prosecutor General's Office, and in a statement released yesterday, the Ministry of Health, seemingly aware of the impending scrutiny, is attempting to preemptively address potential omissions and inquiries that may be raised by the prosecution.

Another question is why the ministry did not speak about the inaccuracies regarding the death toll a year ago when, in the early months of 2021, the Public Health Surveillance Agency published its statistics, at which point it was already clear that something was amiss with the death figures.