Coronavirus: Four deaths linked to virus in NI last week

NISRA's statistics are based on how many death certificates refer to the virus

Four coronavirus-linked deaths were registered in Northern Ireland last week, official figures show.

That is two fewer than the previous week, according to the latest statistics bulletin issued by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra).

It said the virus had featured on the death certificates of 873 people in total by 28 August.

The Department of Health's daily figure for the same date was 561 - more than 300 fewer.

Its statistics are based on a patient having previously tested positive for the virus.

On Friday afternoon, it announced that there had been one more death recorded in Northern Ireland and 61 new positive cases.

That brings its death total to 564, with a total of 7,503 cases having been recorded since the pandemic began.

In the Republic of Ireland there were 98 new cases and no further deaths linked to the virus.

Nisra said there have been 462 deaths in hospital (52.9%) - 81 of those people were normally resident in care homes.

Taking that figure and the 359 who died in care homes, it means care home residents account for half of all Covid-19-related deaths in Northern Ireland.

In the week up to last Friday, no Covid-19 related deaths occurred in a care home.

Eight people have died in hospices (0.9%) and 52 at residential addresses or other locations (6%).

People aged 75 and over account for 80% of all Covid-19-related deaths.

In the week ending 28 August, the percentage of all Covid-19 related male deaths was 49.9% and female deaths 50.1%.

Those with an address in the Belfast council area account for 249 (28.5%) of the 873 deaths registered by last Friday. Fermanagh and Omagh has recorded the fewest (17).

Excess deaths

The provisional number of all deaths between 22 and 28 August was 303 - 10 fewer than in the previous week (313) and 44 more than the five-year average (259).

That five-year death rate is used to compare the number of weekly deaths that would normally be recorded at this time of year.

The measure captures all deaths linked to coronavirus - those involving confirmed infections, which feature in the health department's daily figures, as well as the suspected cases in which coronavirus is mentioned on the death certificate.

Nisra also recorded the number of "excess deaths" registered in the past 22 weeks as 1,142.

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