ONS reports 1,641 people have died with coronavirus

NEW data released by the Office for National Statistics yesterday revealed the number of coronavirus-related deaths in Wales to be at 1,641.

The new report reveals that 404 care home residents have died either after testing positive for Covid-19 or after being suspected of having coronavirus by a clinician. Those deaths are included in the overall death toll of 1,641.

This is compared to the most recent published figures from Public Health Wales yesterday, which said there had been 1,132 Covid-19 deaths in hospitals in Wales.

The ONS figures record coronavirus-related deaths that occurred from the beginning of 2020 to May 1.

To compare the two sets of data across the same timeframe, PHW figures for coronavirus deaths in Wales published on May 1 detailed 925 deaths.

The additional deaths, which are accounted for by the ONS but not included by PHW by that date, include 404 deaths in care homes, 88 deaths at home and nine deaths in a hospice setting, as well as others.

Doctors are able to include Covid19 on a person’s death certificate even if it has not been confirmed in a laboratory, as long as the doctor believes it is relevant to an understanding of the patient’s symptoms when they died.

The full breakdown of coronavirus deaths in Wales published in the ONS report (up to May 1) is as follows: ■ In hospital (acute or community, not psychiatric): 1,050 deaths linked with Covid-19;

■ At home: 88 deaths linked with Covid-19;

■ Care home: 404 deaths;

■ Hospice: Nine deaths;

■ Other communal establishments: 12;

■ Elsewhere: Three deaths; Other communal establishments include schools for people with learning disabilities, holiday homes and hotels, common lodging houses, aged persons’ accommodation, assessment centres, schools, convents, monasteries, nurses’ homes, university and college halls of residence, young offender institutions, secure training centres, detention centres, prisons and remand homes.

The “elsewhere” category includes most public places that are not covered by the above. Examples provided by ONS include at the beach, climbing a mountain and walking down the street.

Since the first coronavirus-related death in Wales on the week ending March 20, the data revealed that the highest weekly deaths involving Covid-19 reached 413 on the week ending April 24.

The data shows that coronavirus deaths have been on the decline since then, with the following week recording 281 registered deaths relating to coronavirus.

Out of all the local authorities, Cardiff is the local authority with the highest number of deaths in all settings up to May 1 according to the ONS, with 265 fatalities. This is followed by Rhondda Cynon Taf at 201, Swansea at 154, Newport at 120 and Caerphilly at 117.

Those five local authorities are the only ones in Wales with a death toll higher than 100.

Meanwhile, Rhondda Cynon Taf has the highest death rate in Wales per 100,000 people, with a rate of 83.7. This is closely followed by Blaenau Gwent at 81.8, and Merthyr Tydfil at 78.1.

By comparing the amount of deaths to the population, we can work out the death rate which is another way of accurately analysing how the virus is affecting certain parts of the country more than others.

This means that, though there are more deaths recorded in Cardiff, when compared with the population size, the rate is higher in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

The local authority area with the most care home deaths is Cardiff at 100, with Rhondda Cynon Taf shortly following that with 64 deaths, Swansea with 40 deaths and Powys with 33 care home deaths linked with Covid-19.