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Would this apply to pretty much all countries? Especially "testing is reserved for living patients"? A lot of countries are struggling to test enough living people.

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Of course. If you're interested in detailed reporting, it gets fuzzy. False positives, false negatives, not testing, losing results.. Most stats aren't exact in many ways. This is NOT a US-specific phenomenon (healthcare is Excellent, when provided), and in some cases cause of death was NOT COVID-19 either, despite positive test. For deaths, it is a bit better, since most countries do keep tally in that area, but actual testing may vary wildly post mortem.

For the "waiting for evidence"-crowd (inaction), this is bad news. There's just no time when action is required NOW.

However, by buying time, we can ironically "wait for the evidence"!

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