Gauteng Health says that it has recorded only about 42% (10,770) of the excess deaths figure estimated by the SA Medical Research Council (SAMRC), reports MedicalBrief.
The information came in response to a question from Democratic Alliance MPL Dr Jack Bloom, by Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi in the Gauteng Legislature. Mokgethi said the discrepancy was due to undiagnosed or unreported cases, and also delayed reporting of deaths.
She said that the extra deaths can be linked directly or indirectly to the Covid-19 epidemic, which includes those deaths arising from the impact on the health system as a whole.
The department estimates that 13 756 deaths from Covid-19 in the province have not been picked up officially but is working on data clean-up and harmonisation in order to better reconcile the divergent figures. The latest SAMRC figure of excess deaths in Gauteng is 26 802 from 3 May 2020 to 22 May 2021, which is more than double the department’s figure of 10 770.
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