Comparison of Lethality and Mortality Rates Due to Covid-19 and Traffic Accidents in Ecuador 2020–2021

ABSTRACT

Currently, the major causes of death in Ecuador are, among others, the disease known as Covid-19 and traffic accidents. Therefore, the study aims to compare lethality and mortality rates due to Covid-19 and traffic accidents. A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out based on official records of bulletins and infographics of Covid-19 reported by the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) and the National Transit Agency (ANT) from March 2020 to March 2021. From these, lethality rates (×1,000 inhabitants) and mortality rates (×100,000 inhabitants) were calculated while statistical comparisons were made using the t-student and Mann-Whitney tools. According to estimates, in May 2020 a higher number of deaths from Covid-19 occurred, reaching a mortality rate of 1.4 (×100,000 inhabitants) while the mortality rate for traffic accidents reached 1.1 (×100,000 inhabitants) in December 2020, although the mortality and lethality rate is higher in traffic accidents in the studied interval it is not part of this study to minimize the problems that exist due to the pandemic generated by the coronavirus. The results of this study highlight the need to create social awareness about the benefits of taking control measures and creating safe practices to mitigate the number of deaths in Ecuador due to these causes. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.