Science&Tech Heatwave and COVID: those two factors are main drivers of excess mortality in Northern Europe Posted on December 29, 2020 1 min read Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ In the Netherlands, 13,000 people have died more than expected this year, reports the Central Statistical Office. According to the CBS, This so-called over-mortality rate was not so high since the Second World War. The excess mortality is largely due to the summer heatwave and COVID-19 epidemic. A total of 162,000 people died until December 20. During the first wave of pandemic (from Weeks 11 through 19), the death count was almost 9000. In the first 13 weeks of the second wave (weeks 39 to 51), 6100 people died more than expected. In the rest of the year fewer people died than expected, except in weeks 33 and 34, when there was a heat wave. In the end, the death rate thus reaches 13,000 people. As in the first wave, there is also a high mortality rate among people covered by the long-term Care Act, such as nursing homes. In the first wave, 5200 people died more than expected within that group, in the second wave until now 2900 more than expected.
