The number of daily deaths in France from all causes was 25% higher at the beginning of November than the figures recorded last year at the same period, but this increase in mortality seems to give the first signs of slowing, said Friday. Insee in its weekly update on mortality during the Covid-19 epidemic.
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During the first nine days of November, there were an average of 2,120 deaths nationwide each day, "
or 25% more than the previous year
" in the same period, according to still provisional figures released by the National Institute of Statistics.
These data show an "
acceleration
" still "
very clear
" in mortality, since this increase is still greater than that calculated on the second half of October compared to the same dates in 2019 - it had then reached 18%.
However, "
the most recent data (...) seem to announce an attenuation of this increase, or even the appearance of a plateau
", according to INSEE.
Worrisome situation in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Thus, in the week of November 7 to 13, the number of daily average deaths could be down 3% compared to the figures observed the previous week.
This figure is based on provisional data and could therefore be revised further, possibly upwards.
But this development is lower than those observed from one week to another during the previous weeks.
In total, over the period from September 1 to November 9, the number of deaths in France is 12% higher than the levels reached in the same period of 2019. Last week, by stopping the calculations on November 2, the increase was only 10%.
After the sharp increase in deaths observed in March and April, in the midst of the first wave of the epidemic, mortality in France had returned between May and August to levels almost identical to the two previous years.
Since the end of summer, all regions are now affected by this increase in mortality.
The situation is particularly worrying in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (+ 28% compared to last year) and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (+ 18%), as well as in Occitanie, Hauts-de-France and Ile-de-France (+ 15% each).
At the departmental level, the increase exceeds 40% in three departments (Loire, Haute-Loire and Savoie), and 30% in four others (Lozère, Isère, Haute-Savoie and Guadeloupe).
Unsurprisingly, the increase in mortality at the national level mainly concerns the oldest: it reaches 15% among those aged 85 and over, 14% for those aged 75-84, 12% for those aged 65-74.
Among people aged 50 to 64, mortality increased by only 4%, and it even fell for younger people.