One in 10 deaths in Fenland and East Cambridgeshire this year have been caused by coronavirus, with hospitals seeing the most fatalities across both districts, figures have revealed.
Data from the Office for National Statistics between January 1 and July 31 shows 81 out of 835 deaths in Fenland were linked to Covid-19, while 51 fatalities were reported east of the county from a total of 533.
Hospitals have seen the most deaths due to the virus, 61 in Fenland and 31 in East Cambridgeshire, with care homes the next location to occupy the second highest number of deaths with 16 in both districts.
During the same period, Fenland has seen 498 cases of coronavirus, while East Cambridgeshire had 195 cases.
Speaking at Cambridgeshire County Council’s health committee meeting on Thursday, August 6, Dr Liz Robin, director of public health for both the county and Peterborough City Council, reported 74 new lab-confirmed Covid cases across Cambridgeshire between July 20-26.
There were also no deaths recorded for the week ending July 17, but Dr Robin warned that some of the figures may not be totally accurate.
“Many cases of Covid-19 are not tested for or diagnosed, particularly where the person infected does not have symptoms,” she said.
“The rates of testing and diagnosis have also changed significantly during the course of the pandemic - so the numbers and rates of confirmed cases do not provide a full picture of Covid-19 epidemiology over time.”
MORE: Trend in coronavirus cases across Cambridgeshire dropping, says county health chief
At the meeting, Dr Robin said there were 399 Covid-19 related deaths in Cambridgeshire from March to June, with Peterborough still bearing the highest cumulative rate of cases in the county, 713.3 per 100,000 people, above the national average of 464.0 per 100,000 people.
Huntingdonshire’s cumulative rate of Covid cases was also above the national average at 507.5 per 100,000 people.
However, Dr Robin confirmed that death rates for fatalities related to Covid-19 and all causes in Cambridgeshire’s districts “were better than or similar to the national average” between March and June of this year.
The county’s director of public health also said the seven-day rolling average for Covid cases since mid-June “has remained stable, with a slight upturn”.
Between March and June, Fenland recorded 79 Covid-related deaths split between 43 males and 36 females, while in East Cambridgeshire, 32 males and 18 females were reported to have died from the virus.
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