In total, the number of deaths occurring in France between 1 and 30 March is higher than that recorded over the same period in 2019: 57,441 deaths compared to 52,011 last year, said the INSEE on Friday.
The Haut-Rhin, Vosges and Moselle departments have lost a high number of patients to coronavirus, experiencing almost twice as many deaths in March 2020 as in March 2019. The Haut-Rhin experienced a very high excess mortality rate of 128%, with 55% for the Vosges and 40.5% for the Moselle departments respectively.
At a regional level, the Grand Est and Île-de-France departments have a mortality rate 39% higher than that recorded in 2019. For these two regions, the figures are also significantly higher than those recorded for the same period in 2018.
However, these figures are based on all death certificates and cannot be considered as an assessment of mortality due to Covid-19 alone. At a national level, this number remains lower than that recorded over the same period in 2018 (58,641), when seasonal flu caused a high number of deaths in March, according to the Insee .
At departmental level, however, strong disparities are emerging, compared to the same period last year. These disparities can be ascribed to the pandemic, with three other departments experiencing an excess of 40% more deaths: Seine-Saint-Denis (+ 62%), Hauts-de-Seine and Oise (+ 42%). Nearly a third of all departments have experienced at least 10% more deaths than in 2019.
The increase in mortality is higher amongst men, + 13% against + 8% for women, and for those aged 75 and over.
Over the period from 1 to 30 March 2020, approximately 30,000 deaths occurred in a hospital or clinic (53%), 13,000 at home (23%), just over 7,000 in an institution for the elderly (13%) and 6,000 in a location unknown (11%). According to Insee, the data is close to that observed in 2019 and 2018, except for areas where the mortality rate has risen from 23 March, especially in Ile-de-France, Grand Est and Hauts-de-France.
