Devon covid deaths lowest for six months

Just five victims in latest weekly figures

Devon and Cornwall has seen its lowest weekly total of deaths linked to covid-19 since the beginning of October.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which relate to the week ending 26 March show that five of the 304 deaths registered from all causes in two counties had Covid-19 on the death certificates.

Of the five deaths registered, all were in Devon: two from East Devon (both in a hospital), one death of someone from Torbay (in hospital), one death of someone from Mid Devon (in hospital) and one death of someone in the South Hams (in a care home).

No deaths have yet been registered in the Isles of Scilly, and no deaths in Exeter, Torridge, Cornwall, Plymouth, Teignbridge (for the fourth week running), West Devon (the sixth week) and North Devon (the seventh week) were registered.

Since the start of the pandemic 1,718 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall; 946 of them in hospital, 651 in care homes, 110 at home, four in a hospice, three in a communal establishment and four ‘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, 567 were registered in Cornwall, 231 in Plymouth, 204 in East Devon, 167 in Torbay, 127 in Teignbridge, 127 in Exeter, 81 in Mid Devon, 71 in North Devon, 55 in Torridge, 51 in the South Hams, 37 in West Devon, and none on the Isles of Scilly.

So far in 2021, there have been 305 deaths in Cornwall, 92 in Plymouth, 80 in East Devon, 67 in Teignbridge, 58 in Torbay, 54 in Exeter, 34 in Mid Devon, 27 in South Hams, 14 in North Devon, 14 in Torridge and 9 in West Devon.