The total number of deaths registered across Devon and Cornwall where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate has risen over the 1,000 mark.

The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which relate to the week of January 2 to January 8, but registered up to January 16, show that 45 of the 377 deaths registered in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.

A further 11 deaths from the week of December 26-January 1 have been backdated, as have three from the week of December 19-25. It means the total number of deaths were Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate now sits at 1,009 for Devon and Cornwall combined, with 600 in hospitals, 329 in care homes, 73 at home, one in a hospice, three in a communal establishment and three ‘elsewhere’.

Of the 45 deaths registered in week 1 (Jan 2-Jan 8), there were nine deaths of people from East Devon, seven from Cornwall, six from Mid Devon, five from Exeter, four from Plymouth, three from North Devon, South Hams and Teignbridge, two from Torbay and Torridge, and one from West Devon. No deaths in the Isles of Scilly were registered, or have been since the start of the pandemic.

Of the total deaths, 269 have been registered in Cornwall, 143 in Plymouth, 133 in East Devon, 111 in Torbay, 78 in Exeter, 63 in Teignbridge, 59 in North Devon, 54 in Mid Devon, 43 in Torridge, 29 in West Devon, 7 in the South Hams and none on the Isles of Scilly.

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 8 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.

The figures differ from a separate set of information provided by the ONS around deaths by MSOA area. This is because this set of the ONS figures records when Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate, while the MSOA figures record when Covid-19 is considered the underlying cause of death.By Daniel Clark, local democracy reporter