The number of deaths in March started to increase again, every ninth person succumbed to the COVID-19

In March 2022, the total excess mortality rate in Slovakia was the highest so far this year, when it was 17%, while it was twice as high in the group of younger seniors. They struggled with the increased number of deaths especially in Trenčiansky, Trnavský and Košický kraj, where the number of deaths exceeded the pre-pandemic average by more than 21%. COVID-19 in the Slovak Republic caused the deaths of up to 614 people and was the most common cause of death.

In Slovakia, more than 5.7 thousand people died in March 2022, which was the highest this year. The number of deaths increased at twice the rate of the first two months of this year, when it exceeded the average of the March values by 16.5% in the years (2015 - 2019) before the onset of the pandemic1). This follows from the preliminary data on the number of deaths and causes of death in March 2022, which were currently published by the Statistical Office of the SR. At the same time, the Office also revised the data for the first two months of this year.

"The epidemiological situation in Slovakia has significantly improved since the beginning of the year, although in March the number of deaths began to rise again. Higher deaths were caused by an ever-increasing number of deaths from COVID-19 infection, but also by a significant increase in deaths from respiratory diseases or infectious and parasitic diseases such as the 5-year average before the pandemic," stated Zuzana Podmanická, Director of the Department of Population Statistics of the SOSR.

In March, similarly as in the first two months of this year, fewer people died in both the pre-productive (0 -14) and productive ages (15-64) than in the previous five years before the pandemic. However, excess mortality continued to manifest itself in the over-65s category, with 26% more seniors dying in March than in the pre-pandemic years. The worst situation was in the subgroup of younger seniors (aged 65-74), which recorded almost a third of the deaths. Seniors represented 81 % of all the deaths during March 2022.

Trenčiansky kraj was the most affected, with an increase in the number of deaths by a quarter

The increased number of deaths during March persisted in all the eight regions of the SR. The number of deaths increased from 10% to 25%. "The rate of excess mortality decreased during March only in Žilinský kraj, in other regions the situation worsened month-on-month, most significantly in Košický kraj," stated Z. Podmanická.

However, the worst situation was in Trenčiansky kraj. In March 2022, over a quarter more people died in the region than the five-year average before the pandemic. Trnavský and Košický kraj also achieved more than one-fifth of the excess mortality¹⁾. On the contrary, the relatively most favorable situation was in Banskobystrický kraj, where the number of deaths exceeded the average of five years before the pandemic by a tenth.

COVID-19 was the fourth most common cause of death in March

In terms of causes of death, a higher number of people died as a result of COVID-19 infection. A total of 614 people died of the new virus in March, the highest number this year. Although their number decreased by three quarters year-on-year, one out of nine people still succumbed to Covid-19 and it caused 11% of all deaths. Covid-19 infection was the fourth leading cause of death²⁾ in March.

From the regional perspective, Trenčiansky kraj had the largest share, almost 15%, in the total number of deaths caused by the virus. On the contrary, the lowest share was recorded by Košický kraj (7% of the total number of deaths in March 2022). This region also had the lowest absolute number (57) of deaths among all regions of Slovakia.

In the structure of deaths in March, circulatory system diseases also dominated in Slovakia, causing 42% of deaths. 2.4 thousand people died, which was slightly more than in the pre-pandemic years). Excess mortality related with these cardiovascular diseases was manifested mainly in the age group of younger seniors (from 65-74 years).

Tumors remained in second place among the causes of deaths (18% of all deaths), but in March, as in the previous four months, fewer people died of these causes than the five-year average, currently up to 12%. The third most common cause, with a share of 12%, was respiratory diseases. These diseases record the most significant excess mortality¹⁾ of all major causes of death in the SR, an increase of up to 56%. 671 people died of respiratory diseases in March.