An inherent part of any statistic is the method used to arrive at the number. The two are inseparable. If you only hear the number, but not the method used to obtain it, then know that you are being misinformed, if not outright lied to. Likewise, when comparing two statistics, two numbers, if the method for obtaining both are not identical, then no direct comparison can be made. Death or case numbers in Canada are not the same as deaths or cases in US because each country and each state uses different methods for arriving at those numbers. Think of it this way, if you were to ask someone on the street how far the nearest gas station was, and the answer you got was "thirty two". What does that tell you? Is it 32 meters? 32 miles? 32 blocks? It doesn't tell you much.