South Africa Excess Deaths Reach Record as Covid Resurges
- Covid-hit provinces show highest number of excess deaths
- South Africa recorded record number of infections on Wednesday
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The resurgence of South Africa’s coronavirus outbreak coincided with a record number of excess deaths in the third week of December, suggesting a far higher death toll from Covid-19 than reflected in the latest health ministry data.
Weekly natural excess deaths, a measure of mortality exceeding historical averages, reached 6,974 by Dec. 23, the highest in 2020 and more than the previous peak of 6,933 recorded at the height of the first wave of the outbreak in July, the South African Medical Research Council said in a weekly report published on Wednesday. Overall, between May 6 and Dec. 29, there were 71,778 more deaths from natural causes than would have been expected.