Maybe. But precise counts are a challenge even today, because different countries use different methods of counting. E.g. some only count corona deaths after a

Maybe. But precise counts are a challenge even today, because different countries use different methods of counting. E.g. some only count corona deaths after a PCR test, some after an autopsy, some require just symptoms of COVID to be there, some count every dead infected person as corona death, even if it was a car accident, etc. So direct comparisons even between countries today are unprecise. I have no idea at all, what things looked like back then.