(Reuters) - Russia's total number of COVID-related deaths has exceeded 803,000 since the start of the pandemic in April 2020, Reuters calculations based on new data from the Rosstat state statistics service showed on Friday.

       Rosstat said that 35,584 people had died of COVID-19 or related causes in March, down from 43,543 in February.

       Reuters calculations also showed Russia had recorded almost 994,000 excess deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020 up to the end of March, when compared to average mortality in 2015-2019.

       Some epidemiologists say that calculating excess deaths is the best way to assess the true impact of a pandemic.

       (Reporting by Reuters)