Worries over return to Care homes bearing the school plans brunt of Covid-19 deaths
Overall cases in county go down but worrying trend emerges
Coronavirus deaths in Kent and Medway have continued to fall but the proportion occurring in care homes is on the increase. Latest Office for National Statistics figures show the 50 care home fatalities related to Covid19 made up 40% of the overall figures recorded in the county in the last week of April.
This is compared to the week ending April 24, when 55 care home residents died, which represented 30% of the total figure. Across England and Wales, care home deaths accounted for 40% of total coronavirus-related fatalities registered in the week ending May 1.
At least 10,535 of all deaths to date have taken place outside hospitals.
Some 8,312 took place in care homes, 1,562 were in private homes, 386 occurred in hospices, 142 took place in other communal establishments and 133 happened elsewhere.
At the time of going to press, at least 989 people are believed to have died from virus in the county.
The area with the highest number of recorded deaths is Medway with at least 132. Thanet is second with at least 100 fatalities.
Tunbridge Wells has the lowest number of recorded deaths with just 35, followed by Tonbridge and Malling at 36. Of this number, at least 644 people have died in hospital, while the number of confirmed cases of the illness is 4,725.
Hospital trusts earlier revealed how many people treated for coronavirus had been discharged from hospital.
But that figure will no longer be provided due to inconsistencies with the way it is recorded. While these are the only deaths in the county which could be confirmed by NHS England, there could be more as of yet unreported.
Statistics released by the ONS suggest it could be 37% higher than the government reports. Speaking at the Downing Street briefing on Tuesday, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said 2,007,146 tests for coronavirus had been carried out in the UK.
Some 226,463 people have tested positive, a daily increase of 3,403 cases.
A total of 11,605 people were currently in hospital with coronavirus, up from 11,465 the previous day.
The UK death toll was 32,692. Dementia has been identified as a pre-existing health condition in 14% of deaths, as was ischaemic heart diseases, 13% of victims had a respiratory disease, 11% had influenza or pneumonia while 9% had no medical conditions.
Meanwhile, millions of workers will still be having their wages paid largely by the state up to October as the financial and human cost of the coronavirus crisis continues to mount. The furlough scheme, currently supporting 7.5 million jobs, will be extended until autumn, although employers will be expected to pick up a share of the bill from August as the economy reopens.
The scheme, which pays 80% of a worker’s salary up to a £2,500 monthly cap, will remain unchanged until the end of July, a one-month extension.
Economists at the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggested this could cost £10 billion, taking the total amount of support provided by the scheme to around £60bn.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak was in the county this week to speak about the government’s efforts to support businesses – turn to pages 24-25.
Kent County Council’s education director says “challenges” lie ahead for the planned reopening of schools as the coronavirus lockdown restrictions ease. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Sunday the phased return of primary schools from June 1, at the earliest, as he laid out his Covid19 roadmap over the coming months.
More than 40 Kent headteachers raised concerns with the chair of the Kent Association of Headteachers, Alan Brookes. They want assurances around the safety of staff, parents and children.
Matt Dunkley, KCC’s corporate director for children, young people and education, said: “My colleagues and I understand this change will present some challenges for headteachers and their staff and we will continue to work closely with schools and support them during this period of transition.”
The Government has committed to the staggered return for Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 classes from the beginning of June if the coronavirus infection rate continues to fall.
Class sizes should be limited to 15 pupils and desks spaced as far apart as possible, government guidance states. It is also hoped that some secondary school years could return before the end of the summer, namely Years 10 and 12. Mr Dunkley said: “We still await more details from Government on how this will be implemented across England.” Mr Brookes is also executive principal of Sittingbourne’s Fulston Manor.
He said: “The general feeling is frustration yet again.
“There is an enormous lack of detail behind all of this.
“If this is ever going to work the headteachers need to be convinced that it’s safe to reopen for children, parents and teachers.
“Otherwise they all will be potentially taking the virus home with them.”