Covid-19 bulletin records first death of child under 15 in Northern Ireland

Q Radio News/PA

The first death in Northern Ireland of a child aged under 15 linked to Covid-19 has been recorded.

The weekly bulletin of Covid-19 figures revealed 19 deaths in the most recent period.

People aged 75 and over accounted for more than three-quarters of the deaths, but it also included the first death in the region in the under-15 age group

The figures, covering the period from July 24 to 30, take the toll recorded by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) to 3,026.

Of these, 2,006 (66.3%) happened in hospital, 783 (25.9%) in care homes, 14 (0.5%) in hospices and 223 (7.4%) at residential addresses or other locations.

The number of deaths reported by the Department of Health up to July 30 was 2,189.

The Nisra figure uses different data sources to Stormont’s Department of Health. It is always higher than the department’s total as it provides a broader picture of the impact of Covid-19.

The statistics agency reports its Covid-19 data with a week’s lag.

The department’s statistics focus primarily on hospital deaths and only include people who have tested positive for the virus.

Nisra obtains its data from death certificates on which Covid-19 is recorded as a factor by a medical professional, regardless of where the death took place or whether the patient tested positive.

Nisra reported that up to July 30, the deaths of 1,022 care home residents were linked to Covid-19, around 34% of the overall toll.

In the week to July 30, 18 coronavirus-linked deaths were officially registered in Northern Ireland. This is a slightly different figure to the death occurrence number.

Some of the deaths registered in the week July 24 to 30 could have occurred before that week, as deaths can take a number of days to register.

It was the largest number of Covid-19 deaths registered in a week since April.

The Nisra figures also show that over the period of the pandemic, Antrim & Newtownabbey, Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon and Mid-Ulster local government districts have had higher proportions of Covid-19-related deaths (9.6%, 12% and 8.3% respectively) compared with their share of all deaths in Northern Ireland (7.9%, 10.3% and 6.5%).

Ards & North Down and Fermanagh & Omagh have relatively low shares of registered Covid-19-related deaths – 2.7 and 2.5 percentage points lower than their share of all deaths.