How badly was your locality affected? Statistics for every NI postcode on

THE Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) has released a raft of new figures relating to coronavirus deaths in the region.

Essentially, the figures show the number of deaths mentioning Covid-19 on the death certificate, registered up to May 29, broken down by the postcode of the usual area of residence of the deceased.

Any statistics that shed further light on the extent of Covid-19 here are to be welcomed.

However, they have also thrown up a series of questions to which those in charge of the response to the crisis must establish the answers if they want to be successful in stemming the spread of the virus.

At first glance the figures have highlighted some not unexpected results, in particular that Belfast was hardest hit during the first spike.

Given the fact that the majority of residents here live in and around Belfast, it could have been predicted that the city would suffer the largest number of fatalities.

As you delve a little deeper, it also becomes clear that parts of Belfast with areas of high social deprivation were also badly affected.

This could be explained by a number of factors. Not only do these areas have a greater number of people living with pre-existing health conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, putting them at greater risk of the virus, but many of the areas are densely populated.

This, of course, makes it more difficult to adhere to social distancing guidance, which may have helped the virus spread more easily than in other parts of Belfast where residents were able to avail of large gardens and quiet tree-lined residential streets to escape the monotony of lockdown.

This doesn’t answer the question of why some of the most affluent parts of the city were seemingly ravaged, though.

Yes, the likes of the Lisburn and Malone Roads escaped relatively unscathed in comparison to places such as the Shankill and New Lodge, but why was there such a high death rate among residents living around the leafy streets of Stormont?

The answer to this is likely to lie in the age profile of many of the residents.

Once again, in keeping with what we know about the virus, older people are more susceptible, so it is not unreasonable to surmise that the number of older residents in the area may be the reason for the spike in deadly cases.

The figures have also once again shone a spotlight on the crisis-hit care homes that struggled to keep Covid-19 from spreading among staff and residents.

For example, of the number of registered deaths for the postcode BT13 in north Belfast, where 30 residents died up to May 29, at least two-thirds of those lived at Parkview Care Home and Clifton Nursing Home.

In fact, go through these latest statistics and many of the spikes in cases can be attributed to care home outbreaks.

It is vital that, as information become available, a full analysis is carried out to reduce the risk of a second outbreak and even more tragic deaths.