Moscow city attributes 1,347 deaths to COVID-19 in August

MOSCOW, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The Moscow health department said on Friday it had recorded 1,347 deaths related to the novel coronavirus in the city in August, with the overall death toll 14.2% higher than during the same month the previous year.

Moscow, the city worst hit by the pandemic in Russia, said it had recorded 10,969 deaths in August, or 1,367 cases more than in August 2019 and 1,345 more than the average of the previous three years.

The department identified 431 cases in which the coronavirus had been the main cause of death, down from 742 in July and 1,605 in June.

It said 916 others had died of other causes, while testing positive for the virus.

The authorities said last month the deaths of 1,706 people were linked to the coronavirus in July.

With 1,091,186 cases, Russia has the world's fourth highest number of infections. The authorities have said that 19,195 people have died from the virus. (Reporting by Polina Ivanova and Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Timothy Heritage)