Virus-Hit Russia Reports 25 Percent Death Increase in January-March

An Orthodox priest blesses traditional Easter cakes and painted eggs prepared for Easter celebration at a church in St. Petersburg, Russia, on May 1, 2021. Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo

MOSCOW—Russia’s state statistical service says the number of deaths nationwide in the first three months of 2021 was more than 25 percent higher than the same period a year ago, and it reported thousands more deaths due to COVID-19 in March than tallied by the country’s coronavirus task force.

More than 583,000 people died in January-March of this year in Russia, compared with 460,000 for those same months in 2020, the Rosstat agency said in a report issued Friday.