71 COVID-19 care home deaths in Northern Ireland last week

By Q Radio News.

Latest figures published today by NISRA show that 115 deaths involving COVID-19 occurred in the last week, from 25th April to 1st May. Of these, 39 occurred in hospital, 71 in care homes, one in a hospice and 4 at home.

Up until the period ending 1st May, a total of 516 deaths involving COVID‑19 occurred: 253 (49.0%) of which took place in hospital, 232 (45.0%) in care homes, four (0.8%) in hospices and 27 (5.2%) at residential addresses or other locations.

The 236 deaths in care homes and hospices involved 66 separate establishments. 

The comparative number of deaths reported daily by the Department of Health to 1st May was 383. These figures are based on patients having previously tested positive for the virus, whereas NISRA figures are based on the information entered on death certificates, completed by medical professionals. They may or may not have previously tested positive for the virus.

Separate analyses  based on the date of death registration, shows that the provisional number of total deaths registered in Northern Ireland in the week ending 1st May 2020 (week 17) was 427, 43 fewer than in week 16, but 107 more than the 5-year average of 320. Over the last five weeks in total, 704 ‘excess deaths’ (deaths above the average for the corresponding period in previous years) have been registered in Northern Ireland.

COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate for 124 (29.0%) of the 427 deaths registered in week 17, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths registered in the calendar year 2020 to 494.

Males accounted for around half of all registered deaths (48.9%) and COVID‑19 related deaths (50.4%) in the calendar year to 1st May. Persons aged 75 and over accounted for two-thirds (66.9%) of all deaths and 77.1% of COVID‑19 related deaths registered this calendar year up to 1st May.