Lowest number of weekly Covid deaths for months, across West

THERE was just one death in Devon linked to Covid-19 in the most recently weekly total – the lowest total for more than six months.

The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which relate to the week of March 27 to April 2, but registered up to April 10, show that four of the 289 deaths registered in Devon and Cornwall had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate, with one in Mid Devon and three in Cornwall. It is the lowest weekly total for the two counties since the week ending October 2, when there were two deaths registered – and the one death in Devon is the lowest since the week ending September 25, the last week when no deaths were recorded.

Of the four deaths registered between March 27 and April 2, there was one death of someone from Mid Devon in a hospital, and three deaths of people from Cornwall – one in a hospital, one in a care home, and one in a hospice.

No deaths were registered in the Isles of Scilly, and there were no deaths registered in East Devon, South Hams, Torbay or Plymouth, in Exeter and Torridge (for the second week running), Teignbridge (fifth week running), West Devon (seventh week running) and North Devon (eighth week running). Two backdated deaths in Plymouth were added to the dataset this week – one in a care home in week 12 (March 20-26) and one in a hospital from week eight (February 20-26).

In total, 1,724 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall, with 949 in hospitals, 653 in care homes, 110 at home, five in a hospice, three in a communal establishment and four ‘elsewhere’.