Manitoba’s overall death toll rose by 1,000 in pandemic’s 1st year – CBC

While death count increases, marriages drop by 25%, births slip by 1.5%

Nov 09, 2021

COVID-19 took the lives of many Manitobans, and contributed to the province counting 1,065 more deaths in 2020 than the year before.

Manitoba reported a new high of 12,290 deaths last year, according to a report from the Vital Statistics Branch.

The annual number of deaths has been trending upwards for years — a consequence of an aging and growing population — but the number of deaths in 2020 and per capita death rate are both the highest in at least 15 years, if not longer.

The province counted nearly 670 deaths from COVID-19 alone by the end of 2020. The pandemic started in March.

Jason Kindrachuk, an assistant professor and Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said the impact of the pandemic extends beyond mortality.

“When we look at the numbers, we really have to think about all these additional variables,” he said.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-pandemic-death-toll-marriage-birth-rate-1.6241544