Israel saw an increase of 2,586 deaths between March and October of this year as compared to the same period in 2019 - a rise of 9%, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.
According to the report, the difference between both years centers around the months of August to October, during which 2,207 coronavirus patients died in Israel - 960 of them in October alone.
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The Jerusalem funeral for a rabbi who succumbed to coronavirus in April 2020
(Photo: Shalev Shalom)
The total mortality rate from the end of March - when the first COVID-19 deaths were recorded in Israel – until the end of October is 10.4% higher than the expected mortality in 2020.
Moreover, the report says that the mortality rate in the first three months of the year was lower compared to the past three years (2017-2019).
Total mortality between April and May was slightly higher than in previous years, but starting July, and especially from August, 2020's mortality rate has significantly eclipsed that of 2019.
The mortality rate in September was 19% higher than the mortality rate for the same month in 2019 (as well as in comparison to the previous three years), and the death rate in October was 24% higher than in 2019 (and 21% higher compared to the 2017-2019 average).
The CBS claimed that the hike in fatalities corresponds with the national COVID-19 death toll.
Data shows that 24,063 Israelis over the age of 70 have died between March and October this year, 2,418 more than the 21,645 deaths reported during the same period in 2019.
During these months, 2,054 Israelis aged 70 and over died from coronavirus - 8.5% of all deaths recorded in this age group.
According to the CBS, COVID deaths explain almost all of the excess mortality among all age groups. The number of coronavirus deaths until the age of 69 is greater than the excess death, suggesting that fatalities due to other reasons have decreased.
The death toll is greater among Israelis aged 70 and over compared to the number of reported COVID deaths. This could stem from deaths from the virus that were not recorded or indirect effects of the epidemic on other illnesses.