Online voices

STORY:

The number of confirmed coronavirus-related deaths in North East care homes is approaching 400.

Brenda Hackett: I don't believe this number I think it's higher than that. Kane James Collacott: When it’s coronavirus related does that mean if they die from any of the symptoms it goes down as covid-19?

Mary Bevans: What do they mean when they say coronavirus related they did or didn't or not sure? Margaret Thompson: Have Italy’s statistics included home deaths or just hospital deaths because watching those overwhelming scenes on the news for a sophisticated health service would suggest otherwise.

Keith Merritt: Don’t think it matter what they have included we are almost 50% higher than what we were expected to have due to bad decision of our own not Italy or any other country.

Mike Usher: In many respects, the UK figure is probably an underestimation because we are still not doing enough tests. The Italian figures do include deaths from care homes but the figures are collated locally and there are some differences in how they are counted. That said considerably fewer elderly people live in care homes in Italy than in the UK. This means that even if there is an underestimation of death rates in care homes, the impact of this on the overall figures is much lower than in the UK. Also given that it is more common for elderly people to live with their children and grandchildren in Italy one would assume that they were more at risk of contracting the virus than in the UK.

Margaret Thompson: I can’t understand why the older people from care homes were not taken to hospital did they choose not to go or were they told they could not? Beverly Mason Those residents testing positive for coronovirus in homes are any of them being hospitalised? What choices do they have or can family members request them being moved to be treated?

Karen Johnson: Yes they can be treated in hospital but many choose not to. They don’t want to leave their homes.