Mortality from COVID-19 in Brazil: analysis of death’s civil registry from 2020 January to 2021 February

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the evolution of mortality due to COVID-19 in the period from January 2020 to February 2021 in Brazil. Methods. Data on all deaths were obtained from the transparency portal, continuously fed by the country's civil registry offices. It was considered death by COVID-19 when there were citations of COVID-19, coronavirus or new coronavirus in the cause of death. Mortality rates for COVID-19 were standardized by sex and age group, according to a population estimate for 2020. Proportional COVID-19 mortality was calculated by age group and region, according to sex. General proportional mortality was calculated by place of death and region, according to the cause of death. Results. Of the 1,596,130 deaths recorded, 16% had COVID-19 as a basic cause, the mortality rate in Brazil was 119.9 per 100 thousand inhabitants, reaching 410.5 in Roraima for men. High rates were found mainly in the North and lowest in the Northeast. The highest proportion was between 70 and 79 years of age. Death by COVID-19 at home reached 3.8% of deaths in the North and 3.4% in the Northeast. Conclusions. The use of civil registry data is of great importance for a timely monitoring of COVID-19 mortality, thus showing the country faces, in 2021, an increase in deaths, worsening the pandemic.