43 covid deaths in region last week

Figures stay roughly steady

There has been another small rise in the number of covid deaths registered across Devon and Cornwall in the last week.

Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures relating to December 12 to 18, but registered up to December 26, show that 43 deaths with covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate, up two from the previous week. A further 11 deaths from the week of December 5-11 have been backdated this week, as well as one death from the week beforehand.

Thirteen people died with covid-19 in East Devon, six in Mid Devon and North Devon, five in Cornwall and Teignbridge, four in Exeter, and two in Torridge and Torbay. There were no such deaths in the South Hams, West Devon, Plymouth or the Isles of Scilly.

Of the 43 deaths registered last week, nine occurred in care homes, 31 in hospitals, one at home, and two in a ‘communal establishment’.

The deaths were:

One care home death and one hospital death of someone from Torbay
Five hospital deaths of people from Cornwall
Six care home deaths, six hospital deaths, and one death in a communal establishment of someone from East Devon
One care home death, two hospital deaths and one death in a communal establishment of someone from Exeter
One death at home and five deaths in hospital from someone in Mid Devon
One care home death and five deaths in hospital from someone in North Devon
Five hospital deaths of people from Teignbridge
Two hospital deaths of people from Torridge

A further 11 deaths from the previous week have been included in the figures this week. A further death of someone at home in North Devon from week 49 (Nov 28-Dec 4) has also been added.

The Isles of Scilly has still yet to see a covid-19 related death, while South Hams, West Devon and Plymouth have gone one week without a death.

In total, 877 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall, with 515 in hospitals, 293 in care homes, 62 at home, one in a hospice, five in a communal establishment and one ‘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, 249 have been registered in Cornwall, 135 in Plymouth, 106 in Torbay, 97 in East Devon, 66 in Exeter, 55 in Teignbridge, 50 in North Devon, 37 in Mid Devon, 33 in Torridge, 25 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 December 18 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.