New data shows comparisons of deaths from Covid and other causes

The Canaries Institute of Statistics (ISTAC), has released new data with comparisons of deaths registered by Covid to other causes during 2020, and the effect that Covid has had on the islands.

In 2019, 15,756 people died in the Canary Islands from causes such as tumors, diseases of the circulatory system, or the respiratory system, which are still the main causes of death in the archipelago. A year later, in 2020 when COVID broke into the world, the Canary Islands death rate increased by 4.6% reaching 16,486 people.

In Spain alone, statistics show that almost 75,000 people died from the coronavirus, 494 of which were in the Canary Islands, either from COVID or as a result of COVID. As expected, the capital islands (Tenerife and Gran Canaria) had the highest number of deaths, but not in a balanced way. Tenerife registered 63% of these deaths with 315 of the total, whereas Gran Canaria had 146.

The rest of the Islands are far from these figures, with the next highest being Lanzarote with 14, Fuerteventura (5), La Palma (9), La Gomera (3), and El Hierro (2) complete the official data.

DEATHS BY MUNICIPALITY:
Regarding the municipalities that registered the highest number of deaths in the islands, in correlation with the total data of the Islands, Tenerife has the ones that have the highest figures:
Santa Cruz: 88
La Laguna: 61
Puerto de la Cruz: 20
Arona: 17
Icod de los Vinos: 15
La Orotava: 14
Los Realejos: 14
Güímar: 12
These are the municipalities that exceed double figures in the number of deaths by COVID in Tenerife.

The data from Tenerife shows that the municipalities with the most deaths from COVID are concentrated in the north of the island, where, it must be remembered, that the oldest population is located. In the north 90 people died, in the south the figure was 64, while in the metropolitan area of Tenerife, with the municipalities of Santa Cruz, La Laguna, El Rosario, and Tegueste, the number of deaths was 161.

In Gran Canaria, only Las Palmas, with 79 deaths from coronavirus, and Telde with 14, were the two municipalities with two-digit records.

Considering the age of the deceased, the vast majority, 68%, were over 75 years old, but in Tenerife, that percentage rises to 70%. Regarding sex, more men died from coronavirus, with 58% of all deaths, compared to 42% women.

OTHER CAUSES OF DEATH:
As reported by ISTAC, in 2020 16,486 residents of the Canary Islands died, the most common causes of death being tumors (4,615, 28% of the total), diseases of the circulatory system (27.4%), diseases of the respiratory system (11.7%), nervous system (4.6%), infectious and parasitic (4.5%), and external morbidity and mortality (4.4%).

The proportion of deaths due to tumors was higher in the islands of Fuerteventura (36.1%), Lanzarote (33.9%), La Gomera (28.1%), and Gran Canaria (27.8%). Regarding deaths from diseases of the circulatory system, the highest proportions were in El Hierro (32.0%), Lanzarote (29.5%), Gran Canaria (29.3%), and La Palma (29.3% ).

On the other hand, within the external causes of morbidity and mortality, there were 45 registered deaths in the Canary Islands due to drowning in swimming pools and the sea. This represents 10 more deaths than the previous year. By islands, Lanzarote was the one in which the most people died from this cause, with 14, followed by Tenerife with 11 and Gran Canaria with 10.