Between 16 March and 3 May, Belgium counted 51% more deaths than usual, its National Public Health Institute (Sciensano) reported on Friday.
Sciensano observed "7,794 more deaths (...) than what was expected based on the last five years," the institute said.
A total of 323 additional deaths were recorded among 15-64-year-olds, 3,313 additional deaths among 65-84-year-olds and 4,791 additional deaths among those over 85 years of age.
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The percentage of additional deaths for weeks 14 (30 March - 5 April 5), 15 (6 - 12 April) and 16 (13 - 19 April) reached 81.2%, 95.3% and 71.3% respectively, Sciensano said.
“Since 27 April, the excess mortality has decreased significantly, but we still see a few days of significant excess mortality in weeks 18 and 19, especially for people over 65 years old," according to Sciensano.
The total number of deaths from all causes increased considerably each week between 16 March and 12 April, with 8,293 deaths between 30 March and 12 April. "Although the number of deaths per week remains very high, we see a decrease from 13 April," they said. The previous week was therefore the peak of excess mortality from all causes. This peak occurred four weeks after the first containment measures were applied.
Flanders was the region with the highest additional number of deaths, with 3,625 additional people passing away between 16 March and 3 May, followed by Wallonia (2,841) and Brussels (1,325).
The Brussels Times
