25% More Elderly Maltese People Died Than Usual In One Week In March – But Why?
In the middle of March, at the height of the pandemic panic on the island, Malta saw a rise in elderly deaths unrelated to COVID-19 – but could the virus have influenced the higher numbers?
Once a pandemic hits, a country’s health authorities will monitor all deaths week by week, in an effort to see if there’s any significant deviation from the norm.
This year, a 25% bump in deaths was recorded mid-March when compared to previous years.
“During the first three weeks of the epidemic, there was a marginally higher (albeit significant) number of deaths when compared to the mean number of deaths in the same weeks in the previous four years,” a health ministry spokesperson told Lovin Malta.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Elderly non-COVID-19 deaths in 2020 compared to the past four years
There were actually fewer deaths in 2020 during the first week of March when compared to the previous years.
But by the 9th of March, the numbers start to rise, overtaking previous years, before eventually peaking in the third week of March with over 100 deaths in that week this year compared to an average of 75 deaths over the last four years.
That’s a sudden 25% increase in deaths.
While authorities were allowing for growth in the older age groups and expected some variation between years, the reason behind a 25% rise in deaths “is not known”.
And, by the end of March, the numbers had returned to normal.
So what happened during those two weeks?
“It could be related to fear of approaching health services because of the perceived risk of infection, within those experiencing an acute life-threatening event, even if the health authorities had been explaining there are two separate emergency departments – one for COVID-19 positive patients and the other for non-COVID cases,” the spokesperson said.
Indeed, some elderly people who needed medical help might have avoided calling services out of fear of catching COVID-19 themselves, ultimately leading to them losing their life for the reason they first needed to call services for.
The situation returned to relative normality by April – albeit with slightly higher deaths than usual – with more people using emergency services and contacting more primary care physicians for consultations via telephone.
However, if a second wave hits or another surge of panic hits the island, Malta’s emergency services will still be working – and if you need to call a doctor, COVID or no COVID: call the doctor.
What do you think of this sudden rise in elderly deaths in Malta?
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