First West Berkshire Covid death for weeks

ONE person from West Berkshire has died with coronavirus recorded on their death certificate in the last week – after five weeks with no deaths.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released on Tuesday says that the person died in hospital in the week ending July 24 and the death was registered up to August 1.

The number of coronavirus deaths in the district is now 132.

The ONS data shows that 64 people from West Berkshire have died with coronavirus in care homes, 60 in hospitals, six at home, one death recorded as elsewhere and one in a hospice.

The data records the number of deaths involving coronavirus, based on any mention of Covid-19 on the death certificate.

The first coronavirus death in the district occurred in hospital and was reported in the week ending March 20, three days before the lockdown began.

In neighbouring Basingstoke and Deane, the number of people who have died with coronavirus recorded on their death certificate has stayed at 117 for the fourth successive week.

Of the 117 people from the borough who have died, 78 died in hospitals, 33 in care homes, three in hospices, two at home and one in ‘another communal establishment’.