NI Coronavirus death-toll rockets to 716 with NISRA reporting 47 new COVID-19 related deaths

The weekly NISRA report was published on Friday morning.

The report showed a disparity between the way in which NISRA and the Department of Health (DoH) record COVID-19 related deaths.

DoH reported 504 COVID-19 related deaths up May 22 whilst NISRA reported 716 for the same period.

The daily updates provided by the DoH count the number of deaths reported by health and social care trusts throughout Northern Ireland, where the deceased had a positive test for COVID-19 and died within 28 days, whether or not COVID-19 was the cause of death.

NISRA weekly, provisional death statistics, which are based on death registration information collected by the General Register Office, count all deaths where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate by the doctor who certified the death, whether or not COVID-19 was the primary underlying cause of death.

Of the 716 deaths recorded by NISRA, 353 (49.3%) took place in hospital, 318 (44.4%) in care homes, eight (1.1%) in hospices and 37 (5.2%) at residential addresses or other locations.

The 326 deaths which occurred in care homes and hospices involved 76 separate establishments.

New analysis provides deaths of care home residents in hospital.

It shows that of the 380 deaths of care home residents involving COVID-19 in the year to date to 22nd May 2020, 83.7% (318) occurred in a care home, with the remaining 62 occurring in hospital.

Deaths of care home residents account for 53.1% of all COVID-19 related deaths.

Separate analyses based on the date of death registration, shows that the provisional number of total deaths registered in Northern Ireland in the week ending May 22, 2020 (week 20) was 325, 71 fewer than in week 19 and 35 more than the five year average of 290.

Over the last eight weeks in total, 902 ‘excess deaths’ (deaths above the average for the corresponding period in previous years) have been registered in Northern Ireland, with the number of ‘excess deaths’ in the year to date to May 22 totalling 643.

COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate for 53 (16.3%) of the 325 deaths registered in week 20, the fourth consecutive weekly fall in the number of registered COVID-19 related deaths and bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths registered in the calendar year 2020 to 705.

Persons aged 75 and over accounted for two-thirds (66.7%) of all deaths and 79.4% of COVID‑19 related deaths registered this calendar year up to May 22.

For COVID-19 related deaths, those with an address in Belfast Local Government District (LGD) accounted for 209 (29.6%) of the 705 deaths registered in the calendar year to May 22.

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