According to Statistics Canada, New Brunswick is the province with the highest excess mortality rate in the country between July and December 2021. The total number of deaths in the province also reaches record highs. These data raise questions about whether the number of COVID-19-related deaths was not reported by the province.
Throughout the pandemic, Statistics Canada collected data on the deaths of individuals from all provinces in Canada and compared it to monthly data before the pandemic. The exercise aims to detect excessive mortality caused directly and indirectly by the virus.
According to his data, a total of 4,599 people died in New Brunswick in the last 25 weeks of 2021.
That’s 886 more than usual. This is also 23.9% more than we should have observed in the absence of a pandemic.
Some provinces in Canada have very wide gaps in the official tally from health authorities.
According to an associate professor and infectious disease researcher at the University of Toronto, Tara Moriartythe investigation must take place.
The high mortality rate in New Brunswick during this period was enormoushe says. If COVID-19 didn’t kill people, what the hell?
December 2021, a deadly month
At the beginning of the pandemic, New Brunswick stood out nationwide; the province has fewer infections and fewer deaths.
The approach Zero COVID from the New Brunswick government was discontinued during the summer of 2021. The arrival of the Delta variant in the province shortly thereafter resulted in an increase in new virus infections.
In August, about 13 new cases of COVID-19 were reported daily by the authorities. In September it jumped to 47 and in December to 192.
New health measures were put in place in December 2021 by the government Higgs to flatten the wave.
In the last five weeks of 2021, 1,129 New Brunswickers died, 327 more than is typically seen annually on both dates.
Statistics Canada confirms that it was also during this period that deaths – from all causes combined – in New Brunswick reached record levels.
Despite this, New Brunswick reported only 35 COVID-19-related deaths in the same five-week period.
Tara Moriarty believe that there is a direct correlation between the increase in deaths and infections during this period.
There has been a surge of the Delta variant in New Brunswick, and you can actually see that in our mortality statistics.he says. In the timeline, the overlap is almost identical.
The Higgs government reacted
The New Brunswick Department of Health says it knows the province’s excess mortality rate will be high in 2021.
He, however, did not comment on whether his calculation of the number of deaths related to COVID-19 during this period was small.
The excess deaths reported by Statistics Canada may be related to COVID-19, but further analysis is needed to verify the actual number of deaths from COVID-19 in New Brunswick in 2021reported by a spokeswoman for the ministry, Michelle Guénard, in early June.
The Department of Health aims to conduct a thorough mortality analysis once Statistics Canada has counted all deaths recorded for 2021.
According to the report of Robert Jones ng CBC
Radio Canada
Source: Radio-Canada
