INFOGRAPHIC

Beds are seen in a fever clinic that was set up in a sports area as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks continue in Beijing, December 20, 2022

The latest mortality data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) published on 28 August, shows 486 041 deaths recorded in 2022, which is a sharp decline by 22% compared to 620 394 deaths recorded in 2021. According to Stats SA, COVID-19 was the leading cause of death in 2021 (15.1%) but then by 2022, COVID-19 was no longer in the top 10 list of leading causes of death in the country.

Stats SA published their mortality report for deaths reported in 2022 last week after they had published their 2021 report in March this year.

The data shows that COVID-19 deaths dropped from 92 438 in 2021 to 8 408 deaths in 2022. In total, Stats SA counted a total of 136 881 deaths attributed to COVID-19.

“The emergence the COVID-19 epidemic challenged public health systems all over the world and in South Africa,” Stats SA’s latest report states.

“The most notable change in rank was the movement of COVID-19 out of the top 10 leading causes.”