5,740 Reunion Islanders died in 2021, or 13,5% more than in 2019. The increase in the number of deaths was much lower between 2019 and 2020 (+1,8%) and between 2018 and 2019 (+1%). “This significant increase is explained firstly by the continued aging of the population, comments INSEE, (…) It is amplified in 2021 by the context of epidemic crises, of Covid-19 and to a lesser degree of dengue ». According to the Regional Health Agency, around 330 deaths occurring in 2021 in Reunion Island at the hospital concern people residing on the island and positive for Covid-19. In 2020, only around forty deaths had been attributed to the virus. In the vast majority of cases, patients were aged 65 or older and had comorbidities (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.). The growth in deaths was more marked in the second quarter and in August 2021, during the epidemic waves which affected the island. Deaths increased much more sharply in other overseas departments and regions : between +30% (in Guyana and Martinique) et +45% (in Mayotte). Their progress was less in 2021 in mainland France, where the deadly impact of the epidemic was stronger in 2020.
COVID-19 AND DENGUE HAVE INCREASED MORTALITY IN 2021
