Coronavirus: NI death-toll rockets up to more than 300 as 64 new deaths identified - 33 per cent of all deaths occurred in care homes

The data concerns all COVID-19 related deaths occurring in Northern Ireland up until April 17, 2020.

NISRA updated report reveals there were 276 death involving COVID-19 in Northern Ireland up to April 17, 2020 whereas the comparative number of deaths published by the Public Health Agency (PHA) at the time was 212.

The NISRA data reveals of the 276 deaths up to April 17, 2020, 66 (60.1%) occurred in hospital, 93 (33.7%) occurred in care homes, 3 (1.1%) in hospices and 14 (5.1%) occurred at private addresses or other locations.

The 96 deaths in care homes and hospices involved 44 separate establishments.

These figures are based on patients having previously tested positive for the virus, whereas NISRA figures are based on the information entered on death certificates, filled out by medical professionals.

The provisional number of total deaths registered in Northern Ireland in the week ending April 17, 2020 (week 15) was 424, 11 fewer than in week 14 but 134 more than the 5-year average of 290. One hundred and one (23.8%) of these deaths mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, bringing the total number of Covid-19 related deaths registered in the calendar year 2020 to 242.

Over the last three weeks in total, 410 ‘excess deaths’ (deaths above the average for the corresponding week in previous years) have been registered in Northern Ireland.

Males accounted for around half (49.0%) of all registered deaths in the calendar year 2020 to April 17 and slightly more than half (54.1%) of the 242 Covid-19 related deaths registered over the same period.

The majority of all deaths registered in week 15 and the year-to-date were of persons aged 75 and above. This age group accounted for two-thirds of all deaths and almost 75% of Covid-19 related deaths in the year-to-date up to 17th April.

There have been 5,245 deaths registered in the year-to-date, 30.3% of which (1,589) were classified as ‘respiratory’.

The number and proportion of respiratory deaths is lower in the year-to-date than the 5-year average of 1,613 (31.7%)