There were 55 flu deaths in 2020 and in 2019 there were more than 1000 deaths attributed to the flu. Covid-19 was the 39th leading cause of death in 2021.

But overall, the ABS said the second year of the pandemic had a low mortality rate of 507 deaths per 100,000 people, lower than the 2019 pre-pandemic death rate (522 per 100,000. That was because lockdowns and other health restrictions meant there was a low level of respiratory infections, like pneumonia and the flu, circulating.

Alcohol-induced deaths in 2021 increased by almost 6 per cent compared with 2020. That was the highest rate in 10 years and it was driven by an 8.1 per cent increase in males.

The ABS did not provide and explanation for this, but health practitioners have pointed out there was an increase in alcohol consumption among middle-aged people. Banks also reported increased spending on alcohol during Covid. Younger adults were found to have been drinking less alcohol during the pandemic.

Heart disease was the biggest killer of males while dementia was the biggest killer of females.

Director of mortality statistics Lauren Moran said mortality in 2021 was still well below pre-pandemic rates and the second lowest on record.

“Heart disease has been the leading cause of death in Australia for some time now, but dementia is now the second leading cause,” she said.

“With those, what we have seen over time is that the rate difference is really narrowing. Ten years ago it used to be about a 30 per cent difference and we are down to about a 9 per cent difference.”