Ireland’s Covid-19 death rate currently high by global standard, study finds

Ireland has been recorded as having one of the highest Covid-19 death rates in the world at present, according to international data.

The Department of Health says this is because the international comparison is based on deaths by the date they were reported, rather than on the day they occurred, and also because deaths are now being reported weekly rather than daily.

The number of Covid-19 deaths per million people in Ireland is currently the highest in Europe and the seventh highest in the world, figures from Our World in Data show.

Only Taiwan, Portugal, Finland and New Zealand, along with the small island states of Montserrat and Barbados, have higher death rates.

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Ireland recorded 2.21 Covid-19 deaths per million people on June 1st, based on a seven-day rolling average, more than twice that of the UK (0.91) and the US (0.83). During the pandemic, Ireland’s highest daily death rate occurred in April 2020, when it reached 14.11.

The Department does publish figures on deaths by date of death but says these are not captured by Our World in Data.

There were 77 deaths reported in the last weekly update on June 1st but, the Department says, 69 per cent of these occurred in April or earlier.

“Recording of Covid-19 deaths may differ substantially between countries. The definition of a Covid-19 death used by countries can also vary considerably. These differences limit international comparisons,” a spokesman said.

“Additionally, it is also important to note that when interpreting data on COVID-19 mortality, the death figures on a given date are not necessarily the number of new deaths on that day, but the number of deaths reported on that day, which may be subject to a time lag.”

Up to June 1st, there have been 7,381 Covid-19 related deaths reported in Ireland since the outset of the pandemic. By the end of May, there were 65 deaths notified in May, 311 in April, and 318 in March.

According to Department figures, the daily number of Covid-19 deaths rose gradually in the spring, peaking at 21 on March 31st, and has fallen since. The highest daily death toll in the pandemic occurred in February 1st, 2021, when 77 people died.

As recently as mid-May, chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan described Covid-19 mortality as stable.

According to economist Seamus Coffey, who has tracked Covid-19 excess mortality, the number of online death notices posted this spring has been higher than would be expected for the time of year. More notices were posted in April than in any other year bar April 2020, at the start of the pandemic.

International comparisons are difficult to make due to differing systems for recording and registering deaths. The process of registering deaths in Ireland is slower in Ireland than elsewhere, leading to delays in calculating excess deaths.

In recent months, the Department of Health has said about half of cases in ICU are incidental, meaning the person was hospitalised for something other the Covid-19 but later tested positive for the virus.

* This story was updated on Wednesday morning following the receipt of additional information from the Department of Health