SA's Covid-19 excess mortality rate 1.6%, says Mkhize
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says the country’s Covid-19 numbers show it has an excess mortality rate of 1.6%.
Mkhize spoke on Thursday afternoon while on a walkabout at Dora Ngiza Hospital in Port Elizabeth.
“It has been announced, and our indication is, that we are at 1.6% of excess deaths which is comparable to India and Russia and much less to countries such as US and UK.
“In all the countries that we are seeing there is Covid-19. You don’t know how many may be undiagnosed Covid-19 deaths and which are natural deaths.
“We are trying to make sure that all the reporting is standardised across all provinces. We are trying as much as possible that is.”
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South Africa has recorded a jump of nearly 60 percent in overall numbers of natural deaths in recent weeks, suggesting a much higher toll of coronavirus-related fatalities than officially reported.
"In the past weeks, the numbers have shown a relentless increase – by the second week of July, there were 59% more deaths from natural causes than would have been expected based on historical data," the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) said in a report released late Wednesday.
The report by the council came as the health ministry announced a record increase of 572 coronavirus deaths over the previous 24 hours.