Coronavirus-related deaths in Devon and Cornwall lowest since beginning of 2021
The number of deaths relating to coronavirus in Devon and Cornwall has fallen by 25 per cent and to the lowest level since the beginning of 2021.
The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which relate to the week of February 6 to 12, but registered up to February 20, show that 75 of the 347 deaths registered in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.
Deaths in Devon have dropped nearly 40 per cent week-on-week, but Cornwall has seen its numbers slightly rise.
The 75 deaths is the lowest total for five weeks, but is still the eighth highest weekly total since the pandemic began.
But the numbers across the two counties as a whole have now fallen for four weeks in a row as the ONS figures see the impact of the third national lockdown due to the time lag between infections and deaths, as well as the start of the vaccine effect following the rollout that began at the end of 2020.
Of the 75 deaths registered in week 6 (Feb 6-12), there were 40 deaths of people from Cornwall, 9 in Plymouth, 7 in Torbay and Teignbridge, 4 in East Devon, 3 in Exeter and Mid Devon, 1 in Torridge and West Devon. No deaths in the Isles of Scilly, North Devon, or the South Hams were registered.
33 of the deaths occurred in care homes, 39 in hospitals, with three at home.
The deaths were:
Five deaths in a care home, one at home, and three in hospital of someone from Plymouth
Four deaths in a care home and three in hospital of someone from Torbay
16 deaths in a care home, one at home, and 23 in hospital of someone from Cornwall
Two deaths in a care home and two in hospital of someone from East Devon
Three deaths in a care home of someone from Exeter
One death in a care home and two in a hospital of someone from Mid Devon
Two deaths in a care home, one at home, and four in hospital of someone from Teignbridge
One death in a hospital of someone from Torridge
One death in a hospital of someone from West Devon
A further ten deaths from week 5 (Jan 30-Feb 5) have been added into the figures this week (5 in Cornwall, 3 in Plymouth, 1 in Torbay and East Devon), with one death from week 4 (Jan 23-29 in Plymouth) as well.
Previous weeks have seen 100, 146, 150, 78, 55, 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, 1,605 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall, with 868 in hospitals, 593 in care homes, 100 at home, three 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, 493 have been registered in Cornwall, 214 in Plymouth, 191 in East Devon, 155 in Torbay, 120 in Exeter, 117 in Teignbridge, 73 in Mid Devon, 70 in North Devon, 52 in Torridge, 48 in the South Hams, 36 in West Devon, and none on the Isles of Scilly.
So far in 2021, there have been 231 deaths in Cornwall, 75 in Plymouth, 67 in East Devon, 57 in Teignbridge, 47 in Exeter, 46 in Torbay, 25 in Mid Devon, 24 in South Hams, , 14 in North Devon, 11 in Torridge and 8 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 February 6 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 43 deaths in Devon and Cornwall’s hospitals within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test in the period between February 6 and 12, 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.