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

There has been a further fall in the number of Covid-19-related deaths registered in Northern Ireland.

The government statistics agency, Nisra, said in the week up to 31 December, the virus was mentioned on the death certificates of 14 people - 16 fewer than the previous week.

It brings the total number of deaths registered by the agency to 4,013.

The Department of Health's total up to last Friday, based on a positive test being recorded, was 2,928.

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.

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Of the agency's measure, more than two-thirds of Covid-19-related deaths have occurred in hospital (69.7%).

There have been 1,141 care home resident deaths, accounting for 28.4% of all Covid-19-related deaths.

People aged 75 and over accounted for 73.5% of the 4,013 Covid-19-related deaths registered between 19 March 2020 and 31 December 2021.

The provisional number of deaths from all causes registered in the week ending 31 December was 347.

Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon and Mid Ulster council areas have had higher proportions of Covid-19-related deaths (12.4% and 8.1% 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).