Weekly Covid deaths hit highest total since pandemic began in Devon and Cornwall
46 people with coronavirus in Cornwall lost their lives during that time
The highest number of weekly deaths registered across Devon and Cornwall where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate has been recorded,
The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which relate to the week of January 16 to January 22, but registered up to January 30, show that 128 of the 366 deaths registered in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate. This compares to 66 of the 404 deaths registered in the two counties last week.
The 128 is the highest weekly total in Devon and Cornwall since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and the 65 deaths in care homes is the highest weekly total
A further 10 deaths from week 2 (Jan 9-15) and one from week 1 (Jan 2-Jan 8) have also been added into the dataset this week, taking the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic in the two counties to 1,222.
Of the 128 deaths registered in week 3 (Jan 16-Jan 22), there were 46 deaths of people from Cornwall, 17 from Teignbridge, 15 in Plymouth, 14 in East Devon, 13 in Exeter, 9 in Torbay, 7 in South Hams, 3 in Mid Devon, and 2 in Torridge and West Devon. No deaths in North Devon or the Isles of Scilly were registered.
65 of the deaths occurred in care homes, 57 in hospitals, with five at home, and one in a hospice.
The deaths were:
Nine deaths in hospital, five in a care home, and one at home of someone from Plymouth
Two deaths in hospital and seven in a care home of someone from Torbay
24 deaths in hospital, 21 in a care home, and one in a hospice of someone from Cornwall
Seven deaths in hospital, six deaths in a care home, and one at home of someone from East Devon
Six deaths in hospital, five deaths in a care home, and two at home of someone from Exeter
Two deaths in a hospital and one in a care home of someone from Mid Devon
Seven deaths in a care home of someone from the South Hams
Four deaths in hospital and 13 in a care home of someone from Teignbridge
One death in hospital and one at home of someone from Torridge
Two deaths in hospital of someone from West Devon
A further 10 deaths from week 2 (Jan 9-15) have been backdated into the figures this week, with four deaths in Cornwall, three in Exeter, and one in East Devon, South Hams and West Devon, and one death from week 1 (Jan 2-8) in Torbay.
Previous weeks have seen 76, 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, 1,222 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall, with 703 in hospitals, 430 in care homes, 81 at home, two in a hospice, three in a communal establishment and three ‘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, 348 have been registered in Cornwall, 160 in Plymouth, 156 in East Devon, 128 in Torbay, 104 in Exeter, 82 in Teignbridge, 64 in Mid Devon, 60 in North Devon, 47 in Torridge, 40 in the South Hams 33 in West Devon, and none on the Isles of Scilly.
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 22 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 61 deaths in Devon and Cornwall’s hospitals within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test in the period between January 16 and 22, four higher than the ONS figures.
While the two measurements do not compare exact like-for-like details, it means that at least four 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.