13 Covid - related deaths in NI last week as fatalities continue to dip

By Q Radio news

Latest figures published today by statistics body NISRA show there were 13 deaths involving Covid-19 up until Friday of last week.

The total number of Covid-19 related deaths  has now reached 2,908. 

The comparative number of deaths reported daily by the Department of Health for the same period was 2,108. 

These figures are based on patients having previously tested positive for the virus, whereas the 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 and therefore include both confirmed and suspected cases, and where Covid-19 was either a contributor to or the main cause of death.

Further analysis, which includes deaths of care home residents in hospital, shows that of the 1,006 deaths of care home residents involving Covid-19 which occurred between 18th March 2020 and 26th March 2021, 76.5% (770) occurred in a care home, with the remaining 236 occurring in hospital.

On this basis, deaths of care home residents account for 34.6% of all Covid-19 related deaths; however, no assumptions can be made in relation to where or when the deceased contracted the disease.

Separate analyses, based on the date of death registration, shows that the provisional number of total deaths from all causes registered in Northern Ireland in the week ending 26th March 2021 (week 12, 2021) was 307, 54 more than in week 11, and 8 less than the 5-year average (2016-2020) of 315.

Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate of 19 (6.2%) of the 307 deaths registered in week 12, an increase of 4 from the previous week’s 15 Covid-19 related deaths.

While this is the first rise in the registration based series following a decline over eight consecutive weeks, the closure of registration offices on 17th March due to the public holiday may have impacted figures in both weeks 11 and 12.

The total number of Covid-19 related deaths registered to 26th March 2021 has now reached 2,905.

Persons aged 75 and over accounted for 76.4% of the 2,905 Covid-19 related deaths registered between 19th March 2020 and 26th March 2021.

Over the period of the pandemic, Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon and Mid-Ulster Local Government Districts have had higher proportions of Covid-19 related deaths (12.1% and 8.2% respectively) compared with their share of all deaths in Northern Ireland (10.4% and 6.4% respectively).

Conversely, Ards & North Down and Fermanagh & Omagh both have relatively low shares of registered Covid-19 related deaths when compared to the proportion of Northern Ireland deaths registered in those areas (2.3 and 2.5 percentage points respectively lower than their share of all deaths).

(Stakeholders in the battle against Coronavirus in NI hold a meeting early on in the pandemic)