NI Covid-19 death-toll now 1,594 says NISRA

The overall toll collated by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) stood at 1,594 on December 11.

The figures compiled by Nisra present a broader picture of the impact of Covid-19 than those 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 in which Covid-19 is recorded as a factor by a medical professional, regardless of where the death took place.

The person may or may not have tested positive for the virus.

The comparative departmental death toll on December 11 was 1,120.

Nisra reports its Covid-19 data with a week lag.

It found that 86 Covid-19-linked deaths occurred in the week December 5 – 11. That was up six on the week previously.

Of the 1,594 deaths recorded by Nisra by December 11, 949 (60%) occurred in hospital, 530 (33%) in care homes, nine (0.6%) in hospices and 106 (7%) at residential addresses or other locations.

The 539 deaths which occurred in care homes and hospices involved 126 separate establishments.

Nisra also provides an analysis around the total number of care home residents who have died, whether in their home or in hospital, having been transferred for treatment.

Up to December 11, the deaths of 667 care home residents were linked to coronavirus, 137 of which occurred in hospital.

Care home residents make up about 42% of all deaths linked to Covid-19 in Northern Ireland.

In the week December 5-11, 87 coronavirus-linked deaths were officially registered in Northern Ireland, some of which occurred before that week as fatalities can take a number of days to register.