49 coronavirus-related deaths recorded in Cornwall in one week
That included in care homes, in hospitals and at home
More than 30 per cent deaths of all deaths registered across Devon and Cornwall where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate have occurred in 2021, latest figures show.
A total of 1,380 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall in the Office of National Statistics, with 964 of them occurring in 2020 and 416 in January 2021.
The two deadliest weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic have both occurred this month, with 147 deaths in the week between January 16-22, and 138 from the week of January 23-29 so far.
The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which relate to the week of January 23 to January 29, but registered up to February 6, show that 138 of the 458 deaths registered in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.
The deaths are likely to relate to infections contracted prior to the third national lockdown being implemented and the subsequent rapid reduction in newly confirmed cases.
Of the 138 deaths registered in week 4 (Jan 23-Jan 29), there were 49 deaths of people from Cornwall, 19 in Plymouth, 17 from Teignbridge, 17 in East Devon, 9 in Torbay, 7 in South Hams, 6 in Exeter, 6 in North Devon, 4 in Mid Devon, 2 in Torridge and 2 in West Devon. No deaths in the Isles of Scilly were registered.
67 of the deaths occurred in care homes, 66 in hospitals, with five at home, and one in a hospice.
The deaths were:
Five deaths in a care home and 14 in hospital of someone from Plymouth
Five deaths in a care home and four in hospital of someone from Torbay
25 deaths in a care home, 23 in hospital, and one at home of someone from Cornwall
Nine deaths in a care home, five in hospital and three at home of someone from East Devon
Five deaths in a care home and one in hospital of someone from Exeter
Three deaths in a care home and one in hospital of someone from Mid Devon
One death in a care home and five in hospital of someone from North Devon
Three deaths in a care home and four in hospital of someone from South Hams
Ten deaths in a care home, six in hospital, and one at home of someone from Teignbridge
Two deaths in a hospital of someone from Torridge
One death in a care home and one in hospital of someone from West Devon
A further 19 deaths from week 3 (Jan 16-22) have been backdated into the figures this week, with six deaths in Cornwall, three in Plymouth, East Devon, and Teignbridge, and one in Torridge and Torbay, and two deaths from week 2 (Jan 9-15), one in Plymouth and Cornwall.
Previous weeks have seen 147, 78, 54, 32, 46, 48, 52, 43, 43, 37, 24, 11, 13, 15, 6, 5, 2, 0, 3, 1, 2, 0, 1, 2, 1, 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, 1, 7, 10, 11, 15, 38, 44, 70, 85, 107, 90, 60, 16 and nine deaths registered.
In total, 1,380 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall, with 777 in hospitals, 507 in care homes, 87 at home, two in a hospice, three in a communal establishment and four ‘elsewhere’.
Other communal establishments, as defined by the ONS, include defence bases, educational premises, prisons (including probation/bail hostel, prisons, detention centres and other detention), hotels, hostels, travel and temporary accommodation (including B&Bs, temporary shelter for homeless and holiday parks), and religious premises.
The ONS define elsewhere as all places not covered by the other definitions, such as deaths on a motorway, at the beach, climbing a mountain, walking down the street, at the cinema, at a football match, while out shopping or in someone else’s home.
Of the deaths, 404 have been registered in Cornwall, 183 in Plymouth, 176 in East Devon, 137 in Torbay, 110 in Exeter, 102 in Teignbridge, 69 in Mid Devon, 66 in North Devon, 50 in Torridge, 47 in the South Hams and 35 in West Devon, and none on the Isles of Scilly.
So far in 2021, there have been 142 deaths in Cornwall, 52 in East Devon, 44 in Plymouth, 42 in Teignbridge, 37 in Exeter, 29 in Torbay, 23 in South Hams, 21 in Mid Devon, 10 in North Devon, 9 in Torridge and 7 in West Devon.
The figures show in which local authority the deceased’s usual place of residence was. For instance, if someone may have died in Derriford Hospital but lived in West Devon, while the death may have been registered in Plymouth, their death would be recorded in the mortality statistics for the ONS figures against West Devon.
Deaths that have occurred in hospitals following a positive coronavirus test since January 29 will be recorded in next week’s figures, as long as the deceased lived within Devon and Cornwall, the death has been registered, and Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
There were 74 deaths in Devon and Cornwall’s hospitals within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test in the period between January 23 and 29, four higher than the ONS figures.
While the two measurements do not compare exact like-for-like details, it means that at least eight of the deaths in the NHS England figures were either of people from outside Devon and Cornwall, or while they had died after a positive Covid-19 test, it did not contribute to their death.