Coronavirus deaths in Devon and Cornwall pass 1,000
A further 45 deaths were recorded in the first week of January
The total number of deaths registered across Devon and Cornwall where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate has risen over the 1,000 mark.
The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which relate to the week of January 2 to January 8, but registered up to January 16, show that 45 of the 377 deaths registered in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.
A further 11 deaths from the week of December 26-January 1 have been backdated, as have three from the week of December 19-25. It means the total number of deaths were Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate now sits at 1,009 for Devon and Cornwall combined, with 600 in hospitals, 329 in care homes, 73 at home, one in a hospice, three in a communal establishment and three ‘elsewhere’.
Of the 45 deaths registered in week 1 (Jan 2-Jan 8), there were nine deaths of people from East Devon, seven from Cornwall, six from Mid Devon, five from Exeter, four from Plymouth, three from North Devon, South Hams and Teignbridge, two from Torbay and Torridge, and one from West Devon. No deaths in the Isles of Scilly were registered.
29 of the deaths occurred in hospitals, with 14 in a care home and two at home
The deaths were:
Four deaths in hospital of someone from Plymouth
One death in a hospital and one in a care home of someone from Torbay
Five deaths in hospital and two in a care home of someone from Cornwall
Five deaths in hospital and four in a care home of someone from East Devon
Three deaths in a hospital and two in a care home of someone from Exeter
Four deaths in a hospital and two deaths at home of someone from mid Devon
Three deaths in a hospital of someone from North Devon
Three deaths in a care home in the South Hams
Two deaths in a care home and one in a hospital of someone from Teignbridge
Two hospital deaths of someone from Torridge
One hospital death of someone from West Devon
A further 11 deaths from week 53 have been backdated into the figures this week, with one hospital death in Plymouth and Torbay, one home death in Mid Devon, two hospital deaths in Torridge, two care home deaths in East Devon, and two hospital deaths, one care home death, and one home death in Cornwall.
And three deaths from week 52 (Dec 19-25) have also been added – a hospital deaths of someone from Cornwall, a care home death in East Devon, and a home death in Mid Devon.
The Isles of Scilly has still yet to see a Covid-19 related death, while the deaths in the South Hams were the first for four weeks.
Previous weeks have seen 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, 1,009 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall, with 600 in hospitals, 329 in care homes, 73 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, 269 have been registered in Cornwall, 143 in Plymouth, 133 in East Devon, 111 in Torbay, 78 in Exeter, 63 in Teignbridge, 59 in North Devon, 54 in Mid Devon, 43 in Torridge, 29 in West Devon, 7 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 8 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.
The figures differ from a separate set of information provided by the ONS around deaths by MSOA area, which had a total of 810 deaths for Devon and Cornwall in 2020, compared to the 964 listed here.
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.