Excess deaths From COVID-19 and other causes, March-April 2020

Summary

The number of publicly reported deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may underestimate the pandemic’s death toll. Such estimates rely on provisional data that are often incomplete and may omit undocumented deaths from COVID-19. Moreover, restrictions imposed by the pandemic (eg, stay-at-home orders) could claim lives indirectly through delayed care for acute emergencies, exacerbations of chronic diseases, and psychological distress (eg, drug overdoses). This study from Woolf et al. estimated excess deaths in the early weeks of the pandemic and the relative contribution of COVID-19 and other causes.