Another 25 Covid-19 linked deaths in latest weekly update

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

The weekly toll is up four on the 21 deaths that occurred in the previous week, according to data compiled by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra).

The latest deaths, which occurred in the week ending March 18, take the total number of coronavirus-linked fatalities recorded by Nisra to 4,403.

The Nisra 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.

On March 18, the department had reported 3,273 deaths.

The department’s statistics focus primarily on hospital deaths and only include 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 lag of a week.

The Nisra figure includes 3,057 deaths in hospital, 948 in care homes, and 398 at residential addresses, hospices or other locations.

Nisra reported that up to March 18, the deaths of 1,242 care home residents were linked to Covid-19, 28.2% of all coronavirus-related deaths.

Covid-19 was also mentioned on the death certificate of 25 of the 301 deaths registered in the week to March 18.

Some of the deaths registered in the week ending March 18 could have taken place before that week, as fatalities can take a number of days to register.

Those aged 75 and over account for 73.6% of the Covid-related deaths registered between March 19 2020 and March 18 2022.