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Illustration photo of an intensive care unit. Photo: Shutterstock 

November’s deaths were the highest monthly tally for Luxembourg since March 1976. However, it should be noted that the country’s population has also grown significantly since then while people generally live longer.

Deaths in November 2020 were 31.2% higher than the same month in 2019 (404 deaths) and 48% higher than the year before (358 deaths). Government statistics show 178 people died after testing positive for Sars-CoV-2 last November, largely accounting for the increase to previous years.

Another 158 people died in December 2020 after contracting the illness, but Statec is yet to update its database on other deaths to allow an analysis of excess mortality.

The year had otherwise been marked by few excess deaths. In January and February 2020 fewer people died than the year before after a mild winter and moderate flu season. Out of the first 48 weeks of the year, there was an increase in deaths in only ten compared to a 2015 to 2019 reference period.

“The excess mortality observed in Luxembourg is therefore relatively limited especially in comparison to other European countries,” Statec said in a report published on Thursday.

An analysis by statistics portal Statista shows Belgium leading with 156.7 coronavirus deaths per 100,000 inhabitants as of 14 December, followed by Italy (106.89) and Spain (101.46). Luxembourg ranked 12th out of the EU’s 27 member countries (64.51).

The mortality rate as measured by population was at 6.6‰ in the first 11 months of 2020, compared to 6.3‰ in 2019 and 6.5‰ in 2018.

At 10,573, the number of active coronavirus infections in November was more than five times as high as during the first peak in April (2,103) and six times higher than during a second peak in July (1,499).

As of 5 January, there were 3,201 virus infections considered active.

The average age of people who died between January and October last year was 80.4 for women and 74 for men. Excess mortality was higher among men, data also confirmed by 56% of all coronavirus deaths so far reported among men.