[downquark1]

To be a pendant a moment this isn't a statistical anomaly, it is a methodological deficiency.

That said the idea of separating what deaths are caused by covid and what are caused by other factors is often quite difficult (in cases not clear cut as getting hit by a bus).

However when everyone uses different methodologies it becomes incredibly difficult to make meaningful comparisons even if some are more sophisticated than others.

However this methodology evidently becomes less accurate the longer the pandemic goes on.