Report takes stock of Covid-19 deaths
RETHABILE MOHONO
The Ministry of Home Affairs, together with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Development Planning, today presented a Validation of Excess Mortality Report due to COVID-19, at a workshop held at Avani Maseru. Excess Mortality refers to the number of deaths from all causes during a crisis above and beyond what is expected under normal conditions.
The report discussed statistics of deaths that occurred before and during the COVID-19 pandemic to assess whether the country experienced a significant change in the number of deaths. The more deaths that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic are said to be directly or indirectly related to COVID-19.
It shows that the pattern of deaths in 2020 and 2021 around January, February, July and August, shows more deaths than expected. The deaths in 2021 were higher in July and August. The report also demonstrated that more deaths occurred among people aged 65+, especially males.