Danish Covid19 Policies Reduced Overall Mortality

Behavioral changes and restrictive public policies have reduced the toll of deaths from covid19 in Denmark—and, in addition, have averted deaths from other causes. The first death from covid19 was reported in week 11 (which started on March 9) (1). Cumulative deaths attributed to covid19 totaled 602 by June 21, the end of week 25 (2). We estimated over this period the net overall impact on mortality of the corona virus combined with the effects of public policies and behavioral changes. Our conclusion is that by the middle of June the cumulative result was not the loss of lives but probably the saving of some lives. As shown in the Figure, Denmark managed to keep deaths from all causes at roughly normal levels during the pandemic.