A new report released by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), which has monitored excess deaths over the past year, estimated that more than 133,000 people have died from COVID-19, far more than the official figure of 54,968. The Health Ministry has declined to comment thus far.
The report, published on May 12, 2021, stated that over the last 12 months, South Africa has experienced 157,000 excess deaths, and the SAMRC estimated that about 85% of these were caused by COVID-19. “Excess deaths” are usually defined as the difference between observed numbers of deaths during a specific time period, and the expected number of deaths for the same time period based on previous years. Some epidemiologists say that these estimates are the best way to measure the true toll due to COVID-19, since counting methods among countries aren’t uniform.
Doctors and other medical professionals are becoming increasingly concerned that there may be a surge of new infections as the Southern Hemisphere enters winter.
