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

Nisra and the Department of Health use different methods to monitor Covid-related deaths

Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificates of 32 people in Northern Ireland up to last Friday, 11 March.

That is two fewer than the previous week, according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.

It brings the agency's total, based on deaths registered since the start of the pandemic, to 4.366.

The Department of Health's total for the same date, based on a positive test result being recorded, was 3,249 deaths.

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.

On the agency's measure, more than two-thirds of Covid-related deaths in Northern Ireland have occurred in hospitals (3,038).

Care home residents account for a little more than a quarter (28.2%) of all Covid-related deaths. The majority of care home residents (941) died in care home facilities.

Covid-related deaths were also recorded in hospices and other residential locations (9.0%).

People aged 75 and over account for almost three-quarters of all Covid-related registered deaths (73.5%) between 19 March, 2020 and 11 March, 2022.

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Armagh City Banbridge and Craigavon (12.5%) and Mid-Ulster (8.2%) local government districts have now recorded higher proportions of all Covid-related deaths, compared with their share of all deaths in Northern Ireland (10.4% and 6.7% respectively).

The provisional number of deaths from all causes registered in the week ending 11 March was 338.

That is the same as the previous week, and six fewer than the five-year average for the time of year of 344.