MORE than 30 per cent of all deaths registered across Devon and Cornwall where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate have occurred in 2021, latest figures show.

A total of 1,380 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall in the Office of National Statistics, with 964 of them occurring in 2020 and 416 in January 2021.

The two deadliest weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic have both occurred this month, with 147 deaths in the week between January 16 and 22, and 138 from the week of January 23 and 29 so far.

The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which relate to the week of January 23 to January 29, but registered up to February 6, show that 138 of the 458 deaths registered in the two counties had COVID-19 mentioned on the death certificate.

The deaths are likely to relate to infections contracted prior to the third national lockdown being implemented and the subsequent rapid reduction in newly confirmed cases.

Of the 138 deaths registered in week 4 (January 23 to January 29), there were 49 deaths of people from Cornwall, 19 in Plymouth, 17 from Teignbridge, 17 in East Devon, 9 in Torbay, 7 in South Hams, 6 in Exeter, 6 in North Devon, 4 in Mid Devon, 2 in Torridge and 2 in West Devon. No deaths in the Isles of Scilly were registered.

67 of the deaths occurred in care homes, 66 in hospitals, with five at home, and one in a hospice.

The deaths included: 25 deaths in a care home, 23 in hospital, and one at home of someone from Cornwall; one death in a care home and five in hospital of someone from North Devon; and two deaths in a hospital of someone from Torridge.

A further 19 deaths from week 3 (January 16 to 22) have been backdated into the figures this week, with six deaths in Cornwall, three in Plymouth, East Devon, and Teignbridge, and one in Torridge and Torbay, and two deaths from week 2 (January 9 to 15), one in Plymouth and Cornwall.

In total, 1,380 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall, with 777 in hospitals, 507 in care homes, 87 at home, two in a hospice, three in a communal establishment and four ‘elsewhere’.

Of the deaths, 404 have been registered in Cornwall, 183 in Plymouth, 176 in East Devon, 137 in Torbay, 110 in Exeter, 102 in Teignbridge, 69 in Mid Devon, 66 in North Devon, 50 in Torridge, 47 in the South Hams and 35 in West Devon, and none on the Isles of Scilly.

So far in 2021, there have been 142 deaths in Cornwall, 52 in East Devon, 44 in Plymouth, 42 in Teignbridge, 37 in Exeter, 29 in Torbay, 23 in South Hams, 21 in Mid Devon, 10 in North Devon, 9 in Torridge and 7 in West Devon.

There were 74 deaths in Devon and Cornwall’s hospitals within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test in the period between January 23 and 29, four higher than the ONS figures.