Excess deaths ‘substantially’ less than Covid-19 figures – HIQA

Excess deaths in Ireland from March to June were “substantially” less than the officially reported Covid-19 figures, analysis from the Health Information and Quality Authority has found.

HIQA says this could be due to the inclusion within official figures of people who were infected with coronavirus but whose cause of death may have been predominantly due to other factors.

Excess deaths refers to the number of deaths over and above what would normally be expected for that time of year.

The analysis assessed the number of deaths that occurred in Ireland from 11 March to 16 June relative to the expected number of deaths, using data from the death notices website RIP.ie.

It found that while there were 1,200 more deaths during that period, this is less than the 1,709 people recorded as having died from coronavirus during those months.

Read more: Excess deaths ‘substantially’ less than Covid-19 figures – HIQA