MOH – NOT UNEXPECTED THAT MORE PEOPLE DIED IN 2021, DUE TO PANDEMIC

The Ministry of Health said in a press release detailing the number of deaths in Singapore for the year 2021.

Here is what they said

The age-standardised death rate¹ five years ago, in 2017, was 560 per 100,000 persons. This has been decreasing steadily to 518 per 100,000 in 2020, even though 2020 was a COVID-19 year.

However, in 2021, the age-standardised death rate rose to 557 per 100,000 persons, comparable to that in 2017 (refer to the Annex).

2.             The increase is not unexpected, given that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a health crisis which has killed many millions of people in the world.

Singapore, however, has recorded one of the lowest rates of excess deaths² in the COVID-19 pandemic from international comparisons so far.

3.             The total excess deaths due to COVID-19 will require further analysis and breakdown of the numbers. We are still undergoing the Omicron wave.

When this wave subsides, the Ministry of Health plans to consolidate the data, and provide a fuller report and analysis on excess deaths due to COVID-19.