Highest number of Covid deaths registered across Cornwall and Devon since April
27 coronavirus related deaths were recorded in Cornwall in the latest weekly figures
The highest number of deaths registered across Devon and Cornwall where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate has been recorded since the end of April.
The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which relate to the week of January 9 to January 15, but registered up to January 23, show that 66 of the 404 deaths registered in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate. This compares to 45 of the 377 deaths registered in the two counties last week.
A further eight deaths 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 1,083.
The 66 deaths registered in a week is the highest total since the week ending May 1, but still well below the peak of 107 in the week ending April 17.
Of the 66 deaths registered in week 2 (Jan 9-Jan 15), there were 27 deaths of people from Cornwall, nine from Exeter, six from East Devon, Mid Devon and Torbay, four from the South Hams, two from Teignbridge, Torridge and Torbay, and one from North Devon and West Devon. No deaths in the Isles of Scilly were registered. 39 of the deaths occurred in hospitals, with 27 in a care home.
The deaths were:
One death in a care home and one in hospital of someone from Plymouth
Three deaths in a care home and three in hospital of someone from Torbay
Eight deaths in a care home and 19 in hospital of someone from Cornwall
Four deaths in a care home and two in hospital of someone from East Devon
Five deaths in a care home and four in hospital of someone from Exeter
Two deaths in a care home and four in hospital of someone from Mid Devon
One death in hospital of someone from North Devon
Three deaths in a care home and one in hospital of someone from the South Hams
One death in a care home and one in hospital of someone from Teignbridge
Two deaths in hospital of someone from Torridge
One death in hospital of someone from West Devon
A further eight deaths from week 1 (Jan 2-8) have been backdated into the figures this week, with one care home death in Torbay, Exeter, Mid Devon and the South Hams, one care home death and one home death in East Devon, and two hospital deaths in Cornwall.
Previous weeks have seen 53, 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, 1,083 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall, with 641 in hospitals, 361 in care homes, 74 at home, one 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, 298 have been registered in Cornwall, 145 in Plymouth, 141 in East Devon, 118 in Torbay, 90 in Exeter, 66 in Teignbridge, 61 in Mid Devon, 60 in North Devon, 45 in Torridge, 30 in West Devon, 32 in the South Hams 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 15 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.
This is because this set of the ONS figures records when Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate, while the MSOA figures record when Covid-19 is considered the underlying cause of death.