Another 20 Covid-linked deaths recorded in weekly update

Twenty deaths linked to Covid-19 have been recorded in Northern Ireland in the latest weekly update.

The fatalities, in the week ending July 1, take the total number of coronavirus-linked deaths recorded by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) to 4,684.

The figure is drawn from different data sources and is always higher than the Department of Health’s total as it provides a broader picture of the impact of Covid-19.

The department’s statistics focus primarily on hospital deaths and include only people who have tested positive for the virus.

Nisra obtains its data from death certificates on which Covid-19 is recorded as a factor by a medical professional, regardless of where the death took place or whether the patient tested positive.

The statistics agency reports its Covid data with a week’s lag.

The Nisra figure includes 3,263 deaths in hospital, 986 in care homes and 435 at residential addresses, hospices or other locations.

Covid-19 was also mentioned on the death certificate of 19 of the 347 deaths registered in the week to July 1.

Some of the deaths registered in the week ending July 1 could have taken place before that week as they can take days to register.

Those aged 75 and over accounted for 73.9% of the Covid-related deaths registered between March 19, 2020 and July 1 this year.