Why Kerala witnessed fewer deaths than pre-COVID year? This govt study has the answer

According to a recent study done by the Kerala Health Department, the absolute number of deaths were 11.1 per cent lower in 2020 (a time when COVID-19 pandemic broke out) when compared to the total number of deaths recorded in the state in 2019. It is to note that during the Coronavirus pandemic, many developed countries witnessed deaths by COVID-19 apart from the other ones. However, in Kerala, the state government claims that with the preventive measures taken by the government, there has been a fall in these figures.

The state is currently ranked at second when it comes to the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. A report by The Indian Express notes that when “the absolute number of deaths is converted to crude death rates,” it turned out to be 7.5 per 1,000 population in the year 2019. This, however, stood at 6.8 per 1000 population in 2020. In 2020, the absolute number of deaths Kerala reported stood at 2,34,536 as against 2,63,901 deaths in 2019. It is likely that there may be a delay in registrations of deaths in the state and some more get reported for last year.

According to the state government, the absolute number of deaths reported in Kerala has reduced in 2020. In 2019, the annual crude death per one lakh population had been 755 in the state. When this is compared to developed nations like the US and Italy, the US has reported 871 and Italy has reported 1447. The similar figures for the US in 2020 was 972 and 1571 in Italy. However, for Kerala, the figure stood at 681.

Apart from this, the report said that 92 per cent of births have also been registered in the vital registration system of the state for the year 2020. “It reflects the left-out portion will be minimal,” the report noted.