Covid deaths in Devon and Cornwall continue to drop
There has been another small drop in the number of deaths relating to coronavirus across Devon and Cornwall to a new lowest figure for 2021.
The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which relate to the week of February 20 to 26, but registered up to March 6, show that 38 of the 340 deaths registered in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.
The numbers are slightly down on the 46 recorded in the previous week – and both the number of deaths in hospital and in a care home are the lowest figure recorded so far in 2021.
Of the 38 deaths registered in week 8 (Feb 20-26), there were 17 deaths of people from Cornwall, five from Plymouth, four from Torbay and Teignbridge, three from Exeter, two from East Devon and Mid Devon, and one from Torridge. No deaths in the Isles of Scilly, South Hams, West Devon (for the 2nd week running) and North Devon (for the 3rd week running) were registered.
15 of deaths occurred in care homes, 20 in hospitals, with three at home.
The deaths were:
One deaths in a care home and four in hospital of someone from Plymouth
Four deaths in a care home of someone from Torbay
Five deaths in a care home, two at home, and 10 in hospital of someone from Cornwall
Two deaths in a care home of someone from East Devon
Three deaths in a care home of someone from Exeter
One death at home and one in a hospital of someone from Mid Devon
Four deaths in a hospital of someone from Teignbridge
One death in a hospital of someone from Torridge
A further nine deaths from week 7 (Feb 13-19) have been added into the figures this week (six in Cornwall, one in Torbay, Torridge and West Devon), with three deaths from week 6 (Feb 6-12 – all in Cornwall) and one death from week 3 (Jan 16-22 in Plymouth) added as well.
Previous weeks have seen 46, 84, 99, 146, 152, 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, 1,660 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall, with 917 in hospitals, 626 in care homes, 106 at home, four 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, 543 have been registered in Cornwall, 227 in Plymouth, 194 in East Devon, 161 in Torbay, 125 in Teignbridge, 124 in Exeter, 78 in Mid Devon, 70 in North Devon, 54 in Torridge, 50 in the South Hams, 37 in West Devon, and none on the Isles of Scilly.
So far in 2021, there have been 281 deaths in Cornwall, 88 in Plymouth, 70 in East Devon, 65 in Teignbridge, 52 in Torbay, 51 in Exeter, 30 in Mid Devon, 26 in South Hams, 14 in North Devon, 13 in Torridge and 9 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 20 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.