The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) published data on coronavirus-related deaths from the COVID-19 data base that its journalists used for their reports on Monday.

The published data covers the period after March 19 when the first coronavirus-related death was reported up to June 1. BIRN said that it did not have access to later data. A total of 1,081 deaths were reported up to that date in COVID hospitals while the government’s pandemic Crisis Staff reported just 224 deaths.  

BIRN invited its readers, especially all those who lost family members or friends, to check the data and see if the names of their familiy and friends are on it and send BIRN a message to check any new data.  

The data is available on the javno.rs web site here.  

BIRN journalists have been claiming that they had access to the COVID data base set up by the authorities.