The highest number of weekly deaths registered across Devon and Cornwall where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate has been recorded, with South Hams seeing seven registered.

The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which relate to the week of January 16 to January 22, but registered up to January 30, show that 128 of the 366 deaths registered in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate. This compares to 66 of the 404 deaths registered in the two counties last week.

The 128 is the highest weekly total in Devon and Cornwall since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and the 65 deaths in care homes is the highest weekly total

A further 10 deaths from week 2 (Jan 9-15) and one from week 1 (Jan 2-Jan 8) have also been added into the dataset this week, taking the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic in the two counties to 1,222.

Of the 128 deaths registered in week 3 (Jan 16-Jan 22), there were 46 deaths of people from Cornwall, 17 from Teignbridge, 15 in Plymouth, 14 in East Devon, 13 in Exeter, 9 in Torbay, 7 in South Hams, 3 in Mid Devon, and 2 in Torridge and West Devon. No deaths in North Devon or the Isles of Scilly were registered.

65 of the deaths occurred in care homes, 57 in hospitals, with five at home, and one in a hospice.

All seven deaths in South Hams occurred in care homes

A further 10 deaths from week 2 (Jan 9-15) have been backdated into the figures this week, with four deaths in Cornwall, three in Exeter, and one in East Devon, South Hams and West Devon, and one death from week 1 (Jan 2-8) in Torbay.

Previous weeks have seen 76, 54, 32, 46, 48, 52, 43, 43, 37, 24, 11, 13, 15, 6, 5, 2, 0, 3, 1, 2, 0, 1, 2, 1, 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, 1, 7, 10, 11, 15, 38, 44, 70, 85, 107, 90, 60, 16 and nine deaths registered.

The figures show in which local authority the deceased’s usual place of residence was. For instance, if someone may have died in Derriford Hospital but lived in West Devon, while the death may have been registered in Plymouth, their death would be recorded in the mortality statistics for the ONS figures against West Devon.

Deaths that have occurred in hospitals following a positive coronavirus test since January 22 will be recorded in next week’s figures, as long as the deceased lived within Devon and Cornwall, the death has been registered, and Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

There were 61 deaths in Devon and Cornwall’s hospitals within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test in the period between January 16 and 22, four higher than the ONS figures.

While the two measurements do not compare exact like-for-like details, it means that at least four of the deaths in the NHS England figures were either of people from outside Devon and Cornwall, or while they had died after a positive Covid-19 test, it did not contribute to their death.