More people continue to die in the Netherlands than statistical projections would indicate, national statistics office CBS said on Friday, in a review of the latest excess death figures.

In the third week of December, 4,100 people died, over 950 more than forecast, the CBS said. The number of actual deaths has outstripped forecasts since August, as the number of coronavirus infections rose.

The number of excess deaths is visible across all age groups, and includes people with long term illnesses as well as the wider population. However, people in residential care accounted for some 500 of the excess deaths, the CBS said.

The official death toll from coronavirus in the Netherlands is currently 20,621 but this only includes people who have tested positive in regional health board tests. According to the government’s coronavirus dashboard, 204 people died from Covid-19 in the third week of December.

The CBS collates death certificates, where GPs register the cause of death. The statistics office has also studied causes of death up to the end of July and concluded that at least 31,573 people have died of coronavirus in the Netherlands since the start of the pandemic.