BL Premium reports that a new report from the Medical Research Council (MRC) indicated that SA has experienced one of the world’s worst death tolls from Covid-19 relative to the size of its population.

This has highlighted the devastating effect of the pandemic in the past year. The MRC estimates there have been 157,000 excess deaths from natural causes in the 12 months to 8 May, a figure that is three times higher than the official death tally of 52,687. The age-standardised excess death rate per 100,000 population stands at 258 for the past year, placing SA in the top five countries for which excess deaths are measured. Standardising for age and population allows a fair comparison between countries and provinces. The report shows a huge range between provinces, but even those that appear to have got off relatively lightly were in fact hit harder than most European countries. The Eastern Cape fared worst of all, with an age-standardised excess death rate of 420 per 100,000 population, followed by KwaZulu-Natal at 382. Gauteng came in at 166 and the Western Cape at 184 per 100,000. According to the MRC, the close correlation between the timing and geographical pattern of the excess deaths recorded in the past year makes it clear that they were mostly directly due to the pandemic. “While some, particularly during the height of waves, may be collateral deaths associated with overwhelmed health services ... about 85% of the excess deaths are due to Covid-19,” the report indicates.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (paywall access only)

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