Statistics office: Number of deaths in February and March, down year-on-year in Romania

Romania registered fewer deaths in February and March 2020 compared to the same period last year, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INS).

A total of 21,699 deaths were registered in Romania in February 2020, 411 fewer than in the same month of 2019. At the same time, in March 2020, there were 22,591 deaths in the country, 298 fewer than in March 2019, local Digi24 reported.

The coronavirus epidemic started at least 20 days later in Romania than in Western countries, Biziday.ro commented. By the end of March 2020, Romania registered 67 deaths due to COVID-19. At the same time, the movement restrictions imposed in mid-March have substantially reduced the number of road accidents - a major cause of death in Romania under normal conditions.

However, the number of babies born in the two months of 2020 was also lower compared to the same period of 2019, the same data showed. A total of 11,857 babies were born in Romania in March 2020, 702 fewer than in March 2019. The situation was similar in February 2020, when the number of babies born in the country decreased by 247 year-on-year.

The natural increase (the difference between the numbers of births and deaths) was negative both in February and March 2020 and in February and March 2019, according to INS.

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