Eight more deaths in West linked to Covid
AFURTHER eight deaths linked to coronavirus have occurred in Devon according to the latest NHS England figures.
Five of the deaths were recorded at Torbay Hopsital with one on October 16, two on the 17th, one on the 18th and one on the 19th.
Derriford Hospital in Plymouth had two deaths on October 17 – the same day that North Devon District Hospital also saw one.
No further deaths have been recorded in Cornwall’s hospitals according to the latest figures released yesterday.
In an earlier set of figures relating to the week of October 3 and October 9, but registered up to October 17, a further six deaths relating to coronavirus were registered in Devon and Cornwall.
Those figures showed that five of the 354 deaths registered in the two counties saw Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate. The previous week saw one of 334 deaths mention Covid-19.
Of the five deaths, three were in a care home in Plymouth, one in a care home in Torbay and one of a Cornish person in hospital.
It was the first death in Cornwall to be registered for seven weeks, and the first death in Torbay to be registered for 17 weeks.
A sixth death – also of a Cornish person in hospital which occurred in the week of April 4 to April 10 – has also been registered for the weeks of October 3 and October 9.
For those dates, no new deaths relating to Covid-19 were registered in the Devon County Council area.
It is the 17th week in a row across Devon and Cornwall combined that the number of deaths has been in single figures, but the deaths registered in the most recent week is the highest number since the end of June.
At the peak of the crisis earlier this year the region recorded up to 107 deaths in one week.
The Isles of Scilly has still yet to see a Covid-19 related death and the South Hams and North Devon have gone 20 weeks, Torridge 19 weeks, Exeter and Teignbridge 17 weeks, Mid Devon 11 weeks, East Devon eight weeks, and West Devon five weeks without a coronavirus related death.
In total up to October 17, 588 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall, with 308 in hospitals, 234 in care homes, 45 at home, and one in a hospice.
Of the deaths, 212 have been registered in Cornwall, 99 in Plymouth, 59 in Torbay, 50 in East Devon, 39 in Exeter, 33 in Teignbridge, 26 in North Devon, 20 in Torridge, 19 in Mid Devon, 19 in West Devon, 12 in the South Hams and none on the Isles of Scilly.
The figures show in which local authority the deceased’s usual place of residence was.
For instance, if someone died in Derriford Hospital but lived in West Devon, while the death may have been registered in
Plymouth, their death would be recorded in the mortality statistics for the ONS figures against West Devon.
Meanwhile in Torbay councillors have warned the pandemic is expected to cost Torbay Council an extra £7.7million next year.
The uncertainty over Government funding means it currently has a predicted income gap of £2.6million but is not planning any major cuts to services.
The authority’s leadership has drawn up a draft budget for 2021/22 which it published for consultation on Tuesday.
The council will consider feedback and must eventually set a balanced budget in February for the financial year starting in April.
Launching the consultation, the council’s Liberal Democrat leader Steve Darling said the lack of information from the Government meant planning the budget “in the dark”. He also warned Torbay, heavily dependent on the tourism and hospitality sector, is expecting to see more job losses when the current scheme ends.