Covid-19: Nisra records increase in Covid-related deaths

The number of death certificates mentioning Covid-19 has risen since last week

Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificates of 39 people in Northern Ireland in the week up to 10 December.

That is an increase of 10 on the previous week, according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra).

It brings the agency's total, based on mentions of the virus on death certificates, to 3,937.

The Department of Health's total, up to last Friday, based on a positive test being recorded, was 2,921.

Nisra's figures are higher because it records mentions of the virus on death certificates, where it may or may not have been confirmed by way of a test.

Of the agency's measure, more than two-thirds of Covid-19-related deaths have occurred in hospital (69.6%).

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There have been 1,137 care home resident deaths, accounting for slightly less than a third (28.8%) of all Covid-19-related deaths.

People aged 75 and over accounted for 73.7% of the 3,937 Covid-19-related deaths registered between 19 March 2020 and 10 December 2021.

The provisional number of deaths from all causes registered in the week ending 10 December was 368, a decrease of 10 from the previous week.

Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon and Mid Ulster council areas have had higher proportions of Covid-19-related deaths (12.3% and 8.2% respectively) compared with their share of all deaths in Northern Ireland (10.4% and 6.6% respectively), according to the Nisra figures.

The statistics also show Ards and North Down and Fermanagh and Omagh council areas both have relatively low shares of registered Covid-19-related deaths (both 2.2 percentage points lower respectively than their share of all deaths).