Covid: Deaths hit six month high in Wales, ONS figures show

There have been 70 deaths in Wales over the month where Covid-19 was the underlying cause - double July's total

Covid deaths in Wales have hit their highest total for six months, according to the Office for National Statistics.

It said 65 deaths registered in Wales in the latest week involved Covid-19.

Numbers had been fluctuating around a similar range for weeks, but these figures for the week ending 10 September show more of a jump.

The highest number of recent deaths has been in the Betsi Cadwaladr health board region - with 23 recorded.

The ONS said 19 deaths were in hospital and four in care homes in the health board, which covers the whole of north Wales.

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Elsewhere in Wales, there were 10 deaths in both Aneurin Bevan and Cwm Taf Morgannwg health boards, eight in Cardiff and Vale, seven in Swansea Bay and six deaths in Hywel Dda.

Every county had at least one Covid death, with Cardiff and Gwynedd having the most registered Covid deaths - seven each.

There were 10 Covid deaths in care homes, the highest weekly total since mid-March, including three in Swansea.

Meanwhile, monthly mortality analysis by ONS found Covid was the seventh leading cause of death in August in Wales.

There were 70 deaths due to Covid over the month, when it was the underlying cause of death - not just a contributory factor. The monthly figure was more than double July's total, when Covid was ranked the 22nd leading cause of death.

Excess deaths 'above average'

Heart disease was the leading cause of death in Wales. Covid was ranked above flu as a cause of death, which was ninth leading cause in August and significantly below the five-year average.

So far in 2021, the mortality rate for Covid in England (140.6 deaths per 100,000) was significantly higher than in Wales (115.6 per 100,000).

So far up to August, Covid is the leading cause of death in Wales over the course of the year but not significantly different to the next leading cause, heart disease.

Deaths from all causes are still above average.

So-called excess deaths, which compare all registered deaths with previous years, were above average for an eighth week in succession. They had been below average for 18 of the previous 24 weeks. There were 115 deaths above the five-year average in the latest week.

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

The number of deaths from all causes in Wales rose to 667 in the week ending 10 September, with 9.7% mentioning Covid on the death certificate.

Deaths were also above average in all UK nations for the week, while deaths involving Covid rose in eight out of the nine English regions, with the largest increase in West Midlands.

When looking across the course of the pandemic so far, there have been 55,030 deaths from all causes in Wales, with 8,111 (14.7%) mentioning Covid-19 on the death certificate registered up to 10 September. This was 5,451 deaths above the five-year average.

When deaths registered in the following days are counted, there have been a total of 8,129 deaths involving Covid.

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