Eurostat has released some new data showing how Covid-19 caused deaths to rise rapidly in many parts of the European Union from March 2020. Compared to the average mortality rates in previous years, the death rate was exceptionally high throughout 2020. Around 297,500 more deaths occurred in the EU between March and October 2020 than in the same period in between 2016 and 2019.
April 2020 saw the highest level of excess mortality in the EU when it increased 25 percent compared to the average of the same month throughout the period from 2016 to 2019. While a lower level of mortality was seen in June and July, it increased again from August, coinciding with the arrival of a new wave of the pandemic.
This chart shows the percentage of additional deaths in 2020 compared to average monthly deaths in 2016-2019.
