Covid19 Has Lowered South Africa's Life Expectancy, According to Stats SA
- Stats SA recently revealed that the Covid-19 virus has consequently lowered the life expectancy of South Africans
- Stats SA indicated an increase in the crude death rate (CDR) through the first and second wave of the pandemic
- The Crude Death Rate (CDR) per one thousand has reportedly increased by roughly 34% since 2020
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A Stats SA report has uncovered that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused the life expectancy among South Africans to decline since the country recorded the first initial case of the virus in March 2020.
The report stated that fatalities during the first and second waves caused an increase in the Crude Death Rate (CDR) which indicates the number of deaths per 1 000 people in a year. The CDR rate rose from 8.8 per 1 000 people in 2020 to 11.6 per 1 000 people; signifying an increase of roughly 34%.
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Stats SA stated that vaccination, following safety measures like social distancing and sanitising hands and surfaces, would likely push South Africa to its previous life expectancy levels. SowetanLIVE reported that the country has gone through two waves of infections and is currently fighting the highly transmissible Delta variant.
The report stated that although the life expectancy at birth indicator is a more 'important' indicator, the Covid-19 pandemic will not be brought forward as a projection of one person's lifespan but it should rather be used to bring to light the cumulative burden of the crisis compared to recent trends.
Reports by eNCA state that there has also been a 34% increase in adult deaths. The publication reported that over 700 000 people died in SA over the past year while around 550 000 people passed away the previous year.
7 209 New cases of Covid-19 recorded in the past 24 hours however, the lower numbers are being questioned
Previously, Briefly News reported that South Africa has recorded 7 209 new Covid-19 cases, which brings the total number of confirmed cases to 2 302 304, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
The Department of Health has reported 221 Covid-19-related deaths, bringing total fatalities to 67 080 to date.
Gauteng accounted for 36% of the new cases with the Western Cape accounting for 17%, followed by Mpumalanga with 10% and KwaZulu-Natal at 9%. Limpopo and North West provinces each accounted for 7%.
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Source: Briefly News
