Covid-19: Rising care home deaths add to Wales total

Care home deaths are around a quarter of all Covid-related deaths in Wales

There were 223 deaths involving Covid-19 in Wales registered in the latest week.

This is 33 more than the previous week and accounts for 26.3% of all deaths, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

There were 65 deaths across the Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board area - 44 in hospital - in the week to 20 November.

There were 58 deaths in care homes involving Covid-19 - the highest weekly number since mid May.

Eleven of the deaths were in care homes in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT), nine in Neath Port Talbot and six in the Vale of Glamorgan.

There were 47 deaths in the Aneurin Bevan health board area, across all settings, 38 deaths in Swansea Bay, 21 in Betsi Cadwaladr and 23 in Cardiff and Vale.

There were 21 deaths in Hywel Dda - more than double the figure last week - and eight deaths involving Powys residents, five of them in hospital.

The total weekly deaths is the highest since the start of May.

Meanwhile, Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board have reported another 27 deaths related to hospital infections in the last week.

There were eight more deaths in both Royal Glamorgan and Prince Charles hospitals, and nine at the Princess of Wales hospital in Bridgend.

It takes the total number of deaths to 204.

There have been more than 700 cases linked to the outbreaks, although the rise in cases has slowed down.

So-called excess deaths, which compare all registered deaths with previous years, are above the five-year average.

Looking at the number of deaths we would normally expect to see at this point in the year is seen as a reliable measure of the impact of the pandemic.

In Wales, the number of deaths increased from 742 to 848 in the latest week, which was 195 deaths (29.9%) higher than the five-year average for that week.

Altogether, there have now been a total of 851 Covid-19 deaths in care homes up to 20 November, making up 24.6% of all coronavirus deaths in Wales.

There have been 20 care home deaths in recent weeks in Llangollen but only two deaths in Denbighshire were registered in time for the latest figures.

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The total number of Covid deaths in Wales up to and registered by 13 November was 3,464 deaths.

When deaths registered over the following few days are counted, there is a total of 3,536 deaths up to 20 November.

RCT, with 503 deaths, has the largest number of Covid-19 deaths in Wales so far in the pandemic. Cardiff has had 442 including the latest week.

Ceredigion has the lowest number of deaths but the total rose by eight in a week to 23. Neither Anglesey or Gwynedd had a death registered involving Covid in the most recent week.

The deaths involving Covid include both suspected and confirmed cases and where Covid is a factor - although it is estimated in 90% of cases the virus is the underlying cause of death.

Unlike Public Health Wales' daily reporting of deaths, this also includes deaths in people's homes, all care homes and hospices.