SYNTHESIS INE@COVID-19, 15 apr-2021

April . 15 . 2021 SYNTH SIS IN @ COVID-19 www.ine.pt page 10/12 Communication Unit | tel: +351 21 842 61 10 | sci@ine.pt Deaths attributed to COVID-19 in weeks 8 and 9 below the 2015-2019 average In the first weeks of 2020, the number of deaths was generally lower than the average figures observed in the corresponding weeks of the 2015-2019 period. In March, contrary to past trends, mortality began to increase, reaching a first peak between the 30 th of March and the 5 th of April, to which COVID-19 deaths contributed in part. A newmaximumof deaths was reached inmid-July, despite the reduced contribution of COVID-19 deaths to the increase inmortality. As the end of the year approached and the beginning of 2021, this growth was increasingly explained by the growing number of deaths attributed to COVID-19. Since the last week of 2020 (28 th of December to the 3 rd of January 2021), the number of deaths increased continuously until week 3 (18 th to the 24 th of January), reaching in that week the highest weekly number of deaths observed since the start of the pandemic. In that week, 5,026 people died (2,160 more than the 2015-2019 average) and the number of COVID-19 deaths was 1,693 (33.7% of total deaths). The total number of deaths began to decline from week 4 of 2021 (25 th to the 31 st of January), although the highest number of weekly deaths attributed to COVID-19 (2,036) since the start of the pandemic had been recorded by then. In weeks 8 and 9 (22 nd of February to the 7 th of March), the number of deaths continued to decrease and Portugal recorded 2,506 and 2,299 deaths, respectively (4,805 in total), which is below the average for the corresponding weeks in the period 2015-2019 (8 and 174 fewer deaths, respectively). Since the start of the pandemic, this situation had only occurred in weeks 24 and 25 of 2020 (8 th to the 21 st of June 2020). 2020 and 2021 deaths and 2015-2019 average, by week, Portugal, week 1 of 2020 to week 9 of 2021 Mortality in Portugal in the contex of the COVID-19 pandemic 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 5,000 5,500 12-Jan 9-Feb 8-Mar 5-Apr 3-May 31-May 28-Jun 26-Jul 23-Aug 20-Sep 18-Oct 15-Nov 13-Dec 10-Jan 7-Feb 2021 2020 7-Mar No. last day of the week 2015-2019 max-min Deaths 2015-2019 average Deaths, excluding COVID-19 0