Weekly Covid death toll in Northern Ireland halves

Ten deaths linked to Covid-19 have been recorded in Northern Ireland in the latest weekly update.

This is half the total of 20 deaths which were recorded for the previous week by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra).

The fatalities, in the week ending August 5, take the total number of coronavirus-linked deaths recorded by Nisra to 4,798.

The figure is drawn from different data sources and is always higher than the Department of Health’s total as it provides a broader picture of the impact of Covid-19.

The department’s statistics focus primarily on hospital deaths and include only people who have tested positive for the virus.

Nisra obtains its data from death certificates on which Covid-19 is recorded as a factor by a medical professional, regardless of where the death took place or whether the patient tested positive.

The statistics agency reports its Covid data with a week’s lag.

The Nisra figure includes 3,347 deaths in hospital, 1,000 in care homes and 451 at residential addresses, hospices or other locations.

Covid-19 was also mentioned on the death certificate of 19 of the 336 deaths registered in the week to August 5.

Some of the deaths registered in the week ending August 5 could have taken place earlier as they can take days to register.

Those aged 75 and over accounted for 73.9% of the Covid-related deaths registered between March 19 2020 and August 5 this year.