Six more Covid-19 deaths recorded in Northern Ireland

Those in the week May 8-14 took the total number of coronavirus-related deaths recorded by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) to 2,968.

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 2,149 on May 14.

Of the 2,968 deaths recorded by Nisra by May 14, 1,964 (66%) occurred in hospitals, 774 (26%) in care homes, 14 (0.5%) in hospices and 216 (7%) at residential addresses or other locations.

Nisra reported that up to May 14, the deaths of 1,011 care home residents were linked to Covid-19.

The figure includes the 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 make up about 34% of deaths linked to Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, according to Nisra.

In the week of May 8-14, seven coronavirus-linked deaths were officially registered in Northern Ireland, some of which took place before that week as deaths can take a number of days to register.