Saskatchewan may not have counted all those who died in COVID-19 in 2021

According to the federal agency, there were 11,115 deaths in Saskatchewan in 2021. The province experienced 1,288 excessive deaths during this period. In 2021, provincial authorities recorded 839 deaths related to COVID-19.

The Department of Health confirmed that the county may not have counted all those who died in COVID-19 in 2021.

Some proportion of excess mortality may consist of unreported deaths in COVID-19reads an email obtained by CBC/Radio-Canada.

Due to some factors, Saskatchewan and other provinces may not have counted all the deaths associated with COVID-19.

University of Toronto researcher Tara Moriarty believes access to testing is part of the reason why the provinces don’t have all the data on coronavirus-related deaths.

If a person died of COVID-19 without being diagnosed, if they had all the signs of the disease but were not diagnosed at the time of their death, then they were not declared as a COVID-19-related death.he explained.

Tara Moriarty also believes that part of the overdose recorded in Saskatchewan could be attributed to overdose of drugs.

The province said some of the excessive deaths could be related to the pandemic.

So, in some cases, restrictions on people seeking medical care during a pandemico changes in the behavior of people seeking caremay explain why the deaths were not associated with COVID-19. Increase in opioid and drug -related deaths should also be considered, depending on the province.

The province said it had no estimate for the number of deaths from COVID-19 that could not have been counted. The data, he says, is constantly being updated with new information available.

No access to PCR tests

Last February, the Saskatchewan Health Authority announced that free PCR tests are now available population priorities.

The population has access to rapid tests that can be found in various places in the province. Saskatchewanians are encouraged to rely on the results of these tests to determine if they are positive.

There has been very little trial in Saskatchewan considering the size of its outbreak, says Tara Moriarty. This has also happened in British Columbia and Alberta, he said. And like other provinces where trial numbers are low, Saskatchewan likely missed many of its COVID-19 deaths.

The Ministry of Health said most residents hospitalized in acute care units were screened for COVID-19.

Therefore, it is expected that the majority of COVID-19 deaths occurring in the acute care system will be reflected in government death reporting statistics.said the ministry.

The province said it continues to review its monitoring and compliance efforts with COVID-19 best practices in Canada and around the world.

Saskatchewan did not record its first death in COVID-19 until March 30, 2020. It did not exceed the 100 death mark until December 16, 2020.

Between January 1, 2020 and January 1, 2022, Saskatchewan reported 955 deaths confirmed to be caused by COVID-19.

The estimated excess mortality in the same period was 1,809 cases, according to Statistics Canada.

With information from Alexander Quon