South Wales still among highest death rate in UK

SOUTH Wales continues to have among the highest rates of death with Covid-19 in the UK, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

The map of Wales’ coronavirus deaths as of May 8 – the most recent figures published by the Newport-based statistics body – shows how the local authorities of the South Wales coalfield and Newport and Cardiff have been the worst affected.

In total, 1,852 people had died with Covid-19 in Wales as of that date – suggesting that the daily deaths figures published by Public Health Wales, which showed 1,099 deaths on the same date, under-report the true death total by nearly 70%.

The total number of lab-confirmed Covid-19 deaths reported by Public Health Wales has reached just over 1,200 – yet the true total is likely to be more than 2,000. However, the latest figures also suggest that the peak of deaths has clearly passed.

The number of deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate in Wales has fallen for three successive weeks.

In total, there had been 93.3 deaths for every 100,000 people in Rhondda Cynon Taf where coronavirus has been mentioned on the death certificate as of May 8.

Merthyr Tydfil had seen 91.4 deaths and Newport 89.4. Cardiff has had the most deaths but it is slightly lower when adjusted on the same population scale.

These figures are lower than the worst-hit council areas in England but still mean that parts of Wales have been affected very badly by the virus.

The borough of Hertsmere in Hertforshire has the highest rate overall with 157.4 deaths for the same number of people.

The figures from the ONS suggest the worst week for deaths related to coronavirus in Wales was more than a month ago.

The most recent figures show 196 Covid-19-related deaths in the week up to May 8 compared to 251 the week before. In the previous week, leading up to April 24, there had been 341 deaths. A week earlier again, leading up to April 17, there had been 405.

Unlike England, Wales does not publish the ages for the people who have died in hospital with labconfirmed coronavirus in its daily update on Covid-19 deaths and cases. However, the ONS figures do show this for England and Wales together.

They show how men have been more affected than women and the over75s have been the most vulnerable to the virus.

The number of deaths in the most recent week includes 122 deaths in hospitals, a fall from 153 a week before, and 65 deaths in care homes, down from 82.

The figures are based on the number of deaths registered up to May 16, where Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate.

Between the start of the outbreak and May 8, there have been 1,852 deaths across Wales involving Covid-19. Of those deaths, most (1,218) took place in hospital, but one in four (27%) were in care homes, a total of 507. There were also 99 deaths recorded at home, 11 in hospices, 14 in other communal establishments, and three elsewhere.

Other communal establishments include prisons, halls of residence, hotels, and sheltered accommodation, while elsewhere covers deaths outside and people declared dead on arrival at hospital.

Across the UK, 41,020 deaths involving Covid-19 had been registered up to May 8. That included 35,454 deaths in England, 1,775 in Wales, 3,213 in Scotland, and 578 in Northern Ireland.

In the week ending May 8, 3,930 deaths in England and Wales involved Covid-19, 31% of all deaths. The number was down by 2,105 compared with the previous week.

There were 1,986 Covid19-related deaths in hospitals and 1,666 deaths in care homes – with care homes now making up two in five deaths.

Overall, there were 12,657 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending May 8, a decrease for the third week running.

Registrations were impacted by the bank holiday – the number fell from 2,950 deaths on May 1 to 88 deaths on May 8 (the bank holiday).

However, the number of deaths was still 3,081 more than the five-year average for this week. In the week ending May 8, the overall number of deaths recorded in hospitals was 114 lower than the five-year average for the same week.

However, there were 2,247 more deaths than the five-year average in care homes, although that was a fall from 4,331 in the previous week.