Region in second spot on list of death rates
THE North East is second to only the North West when it comes to the percentage of its people who have died after catching Covid-19.
Since last March, official figures reveal the deadly pandemic has claimed 4,234 in the region based on those who had died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus.
This works out at 157.3 deaths per 100,000 population. Only the North West has a higher ratio of 167.2. London, meanwhile, has a ratio of 103.8 while the average in England is 119.9.
Broken down into local authority areas, South Tyneside with 316 deaths has a mortality rate of 209.3 per 100,000 population, the 14th highest of all 343 local authority areas in the UK.
It is closely followed by Sunderland whose 557 deaths at a rate of 200.6 per 100,000 population is the 18th highest in the UK.
In all, 10 out of the region’s 12 local authorities are above the England average of 119.9 deaths per 100,000 population, with only North Tyneside at 119.8 and Newcastle 107.6, falling below the grim statistic.
Our research follows the Government announcement on Wednesday of more than 1,000 Covid deaths in its daily report on the virus, while revealing another record rise in cases.
It said a further
1,041 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday. It brings the UK’s death toll to 77,346.
Another 62,322 new cases were also reported, surpassing Tuesday’s record, after more than a week when more than 50,000 new cases were announced every day.
Retrospective analysis of dates of death from Covid showed there were several days in April when more than 1,000 were recorded.
But this is the first time that more than 1,000 coronavirus deaths have been announced in daily figures.
NHS records showed that the worst day of the pandemic so far was April 8,when a record 1,445 people died in 24 hours. But on April 8 itself, 938 deaths were announced in the daily set of figures.
England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said the country faced a “really serious emergency” as he urged people to adhere to the new England-wide lockdown measures, stressing that a “collective effort” was needed to bring cases down.
Earlier this week, scientific advisers warned that there could be more than 100,000 Covid-related deaths based on cur
rent projections.
Our table shows: Local Authority area; Covid deaths; deaths per 100,000 population; UK rank out of 343 Local Authorities