Tag Archives: Deaths.

This morning/afternoon.

Via The Central Statistics Office:

There were 31,765 deaths registered in 2020, of these 16,450 were male while 15,315 were female. The 2020 total is 2.0% higher than in 2019 when 31,134 deaths were registered

…There were 1,672 registered deaths where COVID-19 was assigned as the underlying cause of death in 2020. There were a further 167 mortality records where there was a mention of COVID-19 in the narrative of the death certificate and where the underlying cause of death was not COVID-19.

Vital Statistics Yearly Summary 2020 (CSO)

How covid is assigned?

Meanwhile…

This afternoon.

Special Covid-19 Committee meeting.

Committee Chairman, Independent TD Michael McNamara questioned Dr John Cuddihy, Director, Health Protection Surveillance Centre, HSE, on how rona deaths are counted.

Michael McNamara: “Dr Cuddihy, if someone shows no symptoms of Covid and they have a heart attack and are brought to hospital and they are tested and it is found they have Covid and they die soon thereafter – but this is someone who has demonstrated no symptoms whatsoever – are they recorded as a Covid death or not? If they have tested positive for Covid but ultimately came to hospital because they had a heart attack or a stroke or fallen off the roof of a building or something like that?”

Dr John Cuddihy: “We adhere to the World Health Organisation case definition in terms of recording and reporting deaths so in the situation you describe, where someone has a positive Covid test and it is a death in a confirmed Covid case but such a case would be subject to a coroner’s report aswell, and as part of the ongoing validation of data in our surveillance system, we wouldn’t…”

McNamara: “Obviously a coroner’s report takes a very long time to work its way through the system. So, for now, they are recorded as a Covid death? And maybe they are taken off that list at a later date. is that what you are saying?

Dr Cuddihy: “That’s it exactly.”

Meanwhile…

Previously: Crunching The Numbers

The Reporting Of Deaths

‘Substantially Less Than The Reported 1,709 COVID-19-Related Deaths’

An increasingly chilling time-lapse visualisation of every COVID-19 death worldwide from January to June 2020 (Inspired by Isao Hashimoto’s “A Time-Lapse Map of Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945”) created by James Beckwith, who admits a follow up may be necessary. To wit:

Each country is represented by a tone and an expanding blip on the map when a death from Covid-19 is recorded. Each day is 4 seconds long, and at the top of the screen is the date and a counter showing the total numbers of deaths. Every country that has had a fatality is included.

Needless to say, the cacophony builds relentlessly.

From top: Testing centre at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2 last month; Former Minister for Health Simon Harris (left) and Phelim Quinn, CEO of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA)

 

This morning.

Via RTÉ

A new report from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) shows that while Covid-19 caused a 13% increase in deaths in Ireland between March and June 2020, the number of excess deaths linked to the virus may be “substantially” less than has been reported.

The analysis assesses the number of deaths that occurred in Ireland from 11 March 2020 to 16 June 2020 relative to the expected number of deaths, using data from the death notices website RIP.ie.

It found that while there were 1,200 more deaths during that period, this is less than the 1,709 people recorded as having died from coronavirus during those months.

Um.

Anyone?

COVID-19 causes 13% increase in deaths in Ireland between March and June 2020 – HIQA (HIQA)

Excess deaths ‘substantially’ less than Covid-19 figures – HIQA (RTÉ)

Meanwhile…

Investigative article on the number of deaths in current The Big Issues.

Continues here.

Rollingnews

Number of death notices posted on RIP.ie in April 2020; tweets from Gerard McCarthy and Pádraig MacCarron

Yesterday.

Gerard McCarthy, of Maynooth University and Pádraig MacCarron, of University of Limerick published their research after they looked at the number of death notices posted per county on RIP.ie in April 2020.

Mr MacCarron spoke to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland earlier and told how they found that there were more death notices for Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Meath, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan than any month over the past ten years in those counties.

In comparison, Kilkenny‘s death notices were about the same as April 2019.

Speaking about the accuracy of the figures, he said that the number of death notices posted on RIP.ie match up with figures from the Central Statistics Office death and mortality data.

Asked if the increase in death notices in certain counties can be “put down purely to Covid”, Mr MacCarron told Morning Ireland:

“Yeah, it seems to be. The mean number of deaths in April for the last ten years is about 2,500. And the official numbers give about 1,200 people died [of Covid] in April. So if you add those together, there’s only 60 extra deaths. And our death notices posted on RIP.ie compared to the average plus the number of deaths from Covid.

“And in fact if you add up the number of deaths from Covid to last year’s number of death notices, that would be about 100 higher than it is now. So it seems like the official numbers are quite representative and that’s the main cause of this excess.”

Listen back in full here

Meanwhile…

Meanwhile, on RTÉ’s Brainstorm, they write:

Nationally, the number of death notices posted on RIP.ie in April 2020 for the whole of Ireland are the highest on record, but comparable with January 2018 and 2017 when there was a bad flu season.

Typically deaths peak in Ireland in the winter are associated with respiratory diseases, including the seasonal flu. The number of death notices posted typically decreases going into April, whereas there is a spike associated with the coronavirus in 2020.

Comparing the magnitude of this spike to the seasonal peak in winter of other years, it could be argued as comparable to the numbers of death notices posted in previous years (January 2018 was the previous maximum).

There is increasingly heated debate about whether the unprecedented measures implemented to combat the spread of Covid-19 are necessary to maintain, if excess mortality is comparable to that of the seasonal flu.

However, this picture of the national situation, where Ireland could be on track to keeping mortality to that of a bad flu season, belies a more complex geography of the pandemic in Ireland.

…Looking in more detail at the map, it is the border counties of Monaghan and Cavan that are worst affected where the increase in postings in April 2020 relative to the average number of postings was 150% and 120% respectively.

What death notices tell us about the coronavirus across Ireland (RTÉ Brainstorm)

From top: Latest update on the Department of Health’s Covid-19 dashboard; Dublin Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane

This morning.

The latest Department of Health figures show that, as of April 15, there were 444 Covid-19 deaths in Ireland, 290 associated with residential settings, including 245 in nursing homes.

Last week, the department confirmed that when calculating its death toll, the department counts “any death that involves a positive Covid-19 test” and any person whose remains test positive for Covid-19 during a post-mortem.

This would appear to suggest that any person who has tested positive for Covid-19 will be listed as having died from Covid-19 regardless of the actual cause of death

Further to this…

This morning Paul Cullen reports in The Irish Times that the Dublin Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane has warned that “not all Covid-19 deaths are being reported as required by law“.

Mr Cullen reports:

…Dr Myra Cullinane has written to medical staff in hospitals and other locations who are responsible for completing death certificates saying they must comply with the requirement to report “any death in the context of proven or suspected” Covid-19 to her office.

Her warning comes amid concern over possible under-reporting of deaths from the virus, particularly outside hospitals. Analyses of online death notices in recent weeks have suggested a level of excess mortality not captured in official figures.

…In her letter, Dr Cullinane reminds medical staff of the requirement under the Coroners Acts to report virus deaths. She adds: “It has been drawn to my attention that such reporting is not taking place in all cases.”

Meanwhile, earlier on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland…

Broadcaster Dr Gavin Jennings asked Dr Siobhán Ní Bhriain, National Lead for Integrated Care with the HSE, if she’s “sure that all deaths for Covid-19 or suspected in care centres and in nursing homes are being reported as Covid-19 deaths“.

Ms Ní Bhriain replied:

“I couldn’t say with absolute certainty, Gavin, that they are being reported as such. I do, we do wonder, if at the early stages of the disease, when we didn’t suspect it was Covid, there may have been a couple of deaths that occurred early that would not have been typically Covid in terms of symptoms.

“But we have a review system in place to look back over all those deaths reporting, that were reported. And we will be reviewing that.”

Listen back to the interview in full here

Some Covid-19 deaths are not being reported, coroner warns (Paul Cullen, The Irish Times)

Related: 881 patients in acute hospitals with Covid-19, 448 suspected cases (RTÉ)

Previously: Counting ‘Every Death’ That ‘Involves A Positive COVID-19 Test’

Meanwhile.

More than nine in 10 people [in the UK] dying with coronavirus have an underlying health condition, figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

The ONS looked at nearly 4,000 deaths during March in England and Wales where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate.

In 91% of cases the individuals had other health problems.

The most common was heart disease, followed by dementia and respiratory illness.

On average, people dying also had roughly three other health conditions.

Coronavirus: Nine in 10 dying have existing illness (BBC)

Department of Health’s Covid-19 Health Surveillance Monitor as of yesterday; Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan giving his nightly Covid-19 briefing yesterday evening

Yesterday evening.

The Department of Health’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan gave his nightly Covid-19 briefing to journalists, saying:

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, again thank you for being with us.

“Today we’re reporting to you that we have diagnosed an additional 500 – five, zero, zero – cases of Covid-19 bringing the number confirmed in this country to 6,574. And there have been an addition 28 deaths, bringing our total number of deaths to 263.

“Of those 28 deaths, 13 of them were males, 15 of them are females, and 19 of them, we have reports of an underlying medical condition.”

How are Covid-19 deaths in the Republic of Ireland calculated and recorded?

A Department of Health spokeswoman said:

“We count any death that involves a positive COVID-19 test, and we also include post-mortem positive COVID-19 tests.”

Separately, a spokeswoman from the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland, when asked the same question, said:

“Deaths are recorded of patients who have died within 28 days of a positive test result, whether or not COVID-19 was the cause of death. By definition therefore, deaths where tests were not taken will not be included.

“The deaths may have taken place in a hospital setting, or in the community or a care home, but must have been reported to PHA by the Health and Social Care Trust to be included in the report.

“This reporting process allows a “real time” daily update of trends in COVID -19 deaths within each trust area. In this pandemic, public health professionals, policy makers and the public value an up to date, daily record of the number of deaths associated with COVID 19.”

The spokeswoman also confirmed that, like the Republic of Ireland, Northern Irish authorities also include the deaths of people whose remains test positive in a post-mortem.

View the Department of Healths’ Covid-19 dashboard here

Related: Coronavirus: Why death and mortality rates differ (BBC)


Newstalk journalist Eoghan Murphy tweetz:

Tusla has been notified of 116 children being seriously injured in childcare services this year, along with five children going missing and two deaths – one in a childcare centre and one after being transferred to hospital. Breakdown of details [above], released under FoI.

Tusla records large rise in number of children seriously injured while in childcare services (Eoghan Murphy, Newstalk)

Meanwhile…

Tipperary Star reports:

Gardaí are at scene of a fatal incident that occurred at Ballybrado, Cahir, Co. Tipperary at approximately 12.30p.m. today, Monday 16th October, 2017.

A man (early 30s) while in the course of clearing a fallen tree was seriously injured with a chain saw. He has since passed away and his body has been removed to Clonmel Hospital.

Ophelia claims its first victim in Tipperary as man in early thirties dies after chainsaw accident (Tipperary Star)

Earlier: A Death In Waterford

UPDATE:

Leinster Express reports:

A person has been injured after a tree fell on a car in Monasterevin during Hurricane Ophelia.

Portarlington Fire Services has responded to a road traffic collision at Monasterevin where a tree has fallen on a car, one person has been removed to Portlaoise General Hospital.

The gender of the status of the injured person are not yet known.

Laois County Council, An Garda Siochana and HSE Crisis Management Team wish to strongly advise that all members of the public should remain indoors.

BREAKING – Person injured after tree fall in Monasterevin during Hurricane Ophelia (Leinster Express)