Four Covid-19-related deaths in Northern Ireland according to latest available NISRA figures

The deaths in the week of May 15 to 21 took the total number of coronavirus-related deaths recorded by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) to 2,972.

The Nisra data provides a broader picture of the impact of Covid-19 than the death toll reported by Stormont’s Department of Health.

The department’s statistics focus primarily on hospital deaths and only include people who have tested positive for the virus.

Nisra obtains its data from death certificates on which Covid-19 is recorded as a factor by a medical professional, regardless of where the death took place or whether the patient tested positive.

The statistics agency reported its Covid-19 data with a week’s lag.

The comparative number of deaths reported by the Department of Health to May 21 was 2,152.

Of the 2,972 Covid-19-related deaths reported by Nisra, 1,968 (66.2%) took place in hospital, 774 (26.0%) in care homes, 14 (0.5%) in hospices and 216 (7.3%) at residential addresses or other locations.

Nisra reported that up to May 21, the deaths of 1,011 care home residents were linked to Covid-19.

The figure includes 774 deaths that took place in care homes, and a further 237 care home residents who died in hospital having been taken there for treatment.

Care home residents made up 34.1% of deaths linked to Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, according to Nisra.

The agency also reported that people aged 75 and over accounted for 76.1% of the deaths linked to Covid-19.