Illustrative stock photo (source: SME)
The coronavirus was not among the main causes of deaths reported in July 2021.
Out of nearly 4,100 who died in the seventh month of the year, only 18 were due to the disease. Moreover, for the first time in the past 13 months, the number of deaths was lower than the five-year average, according to the preliminary data of the Statistics Office.
“Thanks to a better epidemiological situation, we reported a lower number of deaths compared with the five-year average in July for the first time this year,” said Zuzana Podmanická of the Statistics Office. “The total number of deaths and excess mortality have kept falling every month since January.”
Only two regions with excessive deaths
More than 3,100 people in the age group of 65+ died in July, more than three quarters of all deaths. The excess mortality in this age group was at roughly the same level of the five-year July average.
The only age category where the excess mortality was higher was the 65-74 age group, where it was 4 percent higher.
At the same time, the number of people of productive age (15-64 years) who died in July was below the five-year average for the first time this year , according to the Statistics Office.
In addition, only two regions reported a higher number of deaths than the five-year average: the Prešov Region (by 9 percent more) and the Trnava Region (by 2 percent more). On the other hand, the highest drop in the number of deaths compared to the five-year average was reported by the Nitra Region and the Trenčín Region (by more than 8 percent each).
Covid not among top 10 causes of death
Only 18 people died of Covid in July, the least since last September. Their share in the total number of deaths represented 0.4 percent, which placed the coronavirus at 11th most frequent cause of death.
During the first three months of the year, Covid-19 was the most frequent cause of death, with 37-40 people out of 100 dying of the disease, according to the Statistics Office.
The list of most frequent death causes in July was topped by cardiovascular diseases with nearly 1,900 deaths or 46 percent, which is nearly 3 percent less than the five-year average. The excess mortality was detected in the 65-74 age group, where it represented 3 percent.
More than 1,100 people died of tumours in July, which represented 26 percent of all deaths. The number was nearly 7 percent lower than the five-year average.
Other most frequent causes of death were respiratory diseases (7 percent), diseases of the digestive system (6 percent), and external causes (5 percent), the Statistics Office reported.
