Devon and Cornwall's Covid-19 deaths lowest in two months
No deaths in Plymouth, Torbay, the South Hams or the Isles of Scilly were registered
The number of deaths registered across Devon and Cornwall where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate has fallen again to lowest number in two months.
The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which relate to the week of December 26 to January 1, but registered up to January 9, show that 21 of the 321 deaths registered in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.
The previous week saw 27 of the 285 deaths registered in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.
The reduction in the number of deaths may be a combination as a result of the second lockdown, due to the time lag between infection and death, but also could be a result of registration delays over the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
A further 16 deaths from the week of Dec 19-25, one from Dec 11-18, and two from Nov 28-Dec 4 have also been added.
Of the 21 deaths registered in week 53 (Dec 26-Jan 1), there were seven deaths of people from East Devon, three from Torridge, two from Cornwall, Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon and Teignbridge, and one from West Devon. No deaths in Plymouth, Torbay, the South Hams or the Isles of Scilly were registered.
Fourteen of the deaths occurred in hospitals, with six in a care home and one ‘elsewhere’
The deaths were:
Two hospital deaths of someone from Cornwall
Three hospital deaths, three care home deaths, and one death elsewhere from someone in East Devon
Two hospital deaths of someone from Exeter
One hospital death and one care home death of someone from Mid Devon
Two hospital deaths of someone from North Devon
Two care home deaths in Teignbridge
Three hospital deaths of someone from Torridge
One hospital death of someone from West Devon
A further 16 deaths from week 52 (Dec 19-25) have been backdated into the figures this week as well, with one hospital death in Cornwall, two care home and two hospital deaths for East Devon and Exeter, two hospital deaths and one death at home for Mid Devon, two hospital deaths and a care home death for North Devon, one hospital death for Teignbridge, and one care home death for Torridge
A further care home death for week 51 in East Devon, a death at home in Plymouth in week 49, and a care home death in Torbay in week 49 have also been backdated.
The Isles of Scilly has still yet to see a Covid-19 related death, while South Hams, has gone three weeks without a death.
Previous weeks have seen 43, 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, 950 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall, with 564 in hospitals, 311 in care homes, 28 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, 257 have been registered in Cornwall, 138 in Plymouth, 121 in East Devon 108 in Torbay, 73 in Exeter, 60 in Teignbridge, 56 in North Devon, 46 in Mid Devon, 39 in Torridge, 28 in West Devon, 24 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 1 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.