It is an impressive figure.
In August 2021, French Polynesia experienced a number of deaths from all causes 4.5 times higher than the monthly average between 2015 and 2019, according to provisional figures from the Institute of Statistics in French Polynesia (ISPF) to be released this Tuesday.
The Statistics Institute lists 590 deaths between August 1 and August 31.
Since 1983, the number of monthly deaths had never exceeded 179 in this overseas collectivity populated by 280,000 inhabitants.
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According to the ISPF, the number of deaths from all causes is 4.5 times higher than the monthly average (133) between 2015 and 2019, the four years before the epidemic.
Over the period from August 1 to August 31, “gross excess mortality is 346% for all ages”.
The main over-60s concerned
The people most affected by this excess mortality were aged 60 to 74 (+ 413%) and over 75 (+ 412%).
The increase in deaths is clear among 40-59 year olds (+ 277%) but is “not observed” among people under 40 years old.
The Delta variant spread rapidly from the end of July, in a poorly vaccinated Polynesian population, after six months of poor circulation of the virus.
The increase in mortality is linked to the epidemic, but also to its indirect effects: the management of other pathologies is less effective due to the saturation of healthcare services.
Read also Covid-19: Polynesia, the other French territory submerged by this epidemic wave and confined
This excess mortality could even be even more important, since these figures are provisional and that all the data have not yet been processed, specified the ISPF.
The local Health Department listed 551 deaths linked to Covid-19 in Polynesia on Friday since the start of the epidemic, but it does not take into account deaths occurring at home. His daily report showed 13 new deaths in 24 hours. Hospitalizations are on the decline but remain well above the normal capacities of health structures: 295 Polynesians are hospitalized as a result of Covid-19, including 51 in intensive care.