Northern Ireland weekly Covid-19 death toll falls to lowest level since last summer

There were two coronavirus deaths in the latest week subjected to analysis by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra).

It is the lowest number in a single week since the end of last summer.

The fatalities that occurred in the week May 1-7 took the total number of coronavirus-related deaths recorded by Nisra to 2,961.

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 reports its Covid-19 data with a week lag.

The department’s death toll stood at 2,147 on May 1.

Of the 2,961 deaths recorded by Nisra by May 1, 1,959 (66%) occurred in hospitals, 772 (26%) in care homes, 14 (0.5%) in hospices and 216 (7%) at residential addresses or other locations.

Nisra reported that, up to May 1, the deaths of 1,009 care home residents were linked to Covid-19.

The figure includes the 772 deaths that occurred in care homes, and a further 237 care home residents who died in hospital having been moved there for treatment.

Care home residents make up about 34% of deaths linked to Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, according to Nisra.

In the week of May 1-7, three coronavirus-linked deaths were officially registered in Northern Ireland, some of which occurred before that week as deaths can take a number of days to register.