Coronavirus in numbers: NI sees longest death-free stretch for nearly six months

Northern Ireland has gone three days in a row with no coronavirus deaths for the first time in nearly six months, according to the latest figures from Stormont.
PACEMAKER,BELFAST, 15/12/2020:  A nurse at Antrim Area Hospital waves to a patient who was waiting to be admitted in one of the rows of ambulances in the car park, 
PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISONPACEMAKER,BELFAST, 15/12/2020:  A nurse at Antrim Area Hospital waves to a patient who was waiting to be admitted in one of the rows of ambulances in the car park, 
PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON
PACEMAKER,BELFAST, 15/12/2020: A nurse at Antrim Area Hospital waves to a patient who was waiting to be admitted in one of the rows of ambulances in the car park, PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON

The statistics from the Department of Health show that the death count from the virus remained at 2,107 from Tuesday to Friday.

The last time three days passed without any virus deaths came during the early part of October, more than five months ago.

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It was at that time that health authorities recorded a sharp rise in the number of people testing positive for the virus as the second wave of coronavirus took hold in Northern Ireland and much of Europe.

The second wave proved to be more deadly than the first.

There was at least one virus death recorded every single day from October 11 through to March 12, with the most deadly day arriving on January 17 with 29 fatalities in a single 24 hour period.

In total, more than 1,500 people with the virus lost their lives in the five months between October 11 and March 12.

The latest three-day period with no reported coronavirus deaths comes after three months of strict lockdown, and follows the vaccination of around half the entire adult population (711,673 people) with at least one dose.

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Another measure of the coronavirus death toll, from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), has also found a sharp decline in the number of fatalities in recent times.

The NISRA statistics differ from those published from the Department of Health in some key areas.

The Department record only those deaths whereby a patient had previously tested positive for the virus and publish new figures each day, whereas the NISRA statistics record all fatalities where the virus had been listed as a contributory factor on a death certificate regardless of whether a test had been carried out.

The NISRA figures are also published on a weekly basis, with a time delay to allow for a more complete picture.

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NISRA recorded 15 deaths involving Covid-19 in the week ending March 19 — the lowest weekly total since the week ending October 9 and the eighth week in a row that the figures have declined.

In total, NISRA had recorded 2,893 deaths by March 19.

A spokesperson for the statistics agency said: “Of the 2,893 Covid-19 related deaths, 1,901 (65.7%) took place in hospital, 767 (26.5%) in care homes, 14 (0.5%) in hospices and 211 (7.3%) at residential addresses or other locations.”

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