Care homes account for 40% of all coronavirus deaths in week to May 1 – ONS
Care home deaths accounted for some 40% of coronavirus-related fatalities registered in England and Wales in the week ending May 1, with at least 10,535 of all deaths to date taking place outside hospitals, figures show.
Of the 6,035 deaths linked to Covid-19 and registered in the week ending May 1, some 2,423 (40%) were in care homes, compared with 3,214 (53%) in hospitals.
This weekly number of care home deaths is a slight dip from 2,794 in the previous seven days and is the first week-on-week decrease since March 20, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Of all deaths involving coronavirus up to May 1, some 22,873 took place in hospitals, while 10,535 were elsewhere.
Of these:
– 8,312 took place in care homes
– 1,562 were in private homes
– 386 occurred in hospices
– 142 took place in other communal establishments
– 133 happened elsewhere
The ONS said the numbers are based on where Covid-19 is mentioned anywhere on a death certificate, including in combination with other health conditions.
The number of deaths in care homes (from all causes) for Week 18 was 6,409 – 1,502 fewer than Week 17.
However, deaths involving #COVID19 as a percentage of all deaths in care homes rose to 37.8% compared with 35.3% in Week 17 https://t.co/poTNRuqF9apic.twitter.com/NK5ip47q7B
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) May 12, 2020
When looking at the ONS figures by date of death, they suggest a peak in daily care home deaths may have taken place on April 17, when 415 deaths occurred.
During the following week, daily deaths declined consecutively for all days but one – April 22, when deaths rose by 20.
The corresponding peak for deaths in hospitals is April 8, when 983 occurred.
In the week ending May 1, there were 17,953 deaths registered across England and Wales – a decrease for the second week running.
For the first time, all regions showed a decrease in the percentage of deaths involving #COVID19 in week 18.
The South East had the highest number of COVID-19 deaths, making this the first week that London did not have the highest count https://t.co/39Ojm53jhGpic.twitter.com/RLCHQfWrMK
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) May 12, 2020
But Nick Stripe, head of health analysis at the ONS, said this is still around 8,000 deaths above the average for this time of year.
Speaking to BBC News, he said: “That is about 4,000 lower than it was the week before but it is still 8,000 above the average that we would expect to see in this week at this time of year.
“So it is actually the seventh highest weekly total since this data set started in 1993 so we have had four out of the top seven weeks in the last four weeks.”
Separate analysis shows there were 8,314 deaths in care homes involving coronavirus reported by care home providers in England to the Care Quality Commission between April 10 and May 8, according to the ONS.
