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New figures reveal a substantial leap in the number of known Covid-19 deaths in Kent - as reporting accuracy increases to include non-hospital settings.
The latest statistics show there were 542 deaths attributed to the virus across the county up to April 17, a number 37% higher than the NHS figure for the same period, which counted only deaths which happened in hospitals.
Increased accuracy in the data shows the alarming extent to which lives are being lost in care homes.
They account for 108 deaths in Kent in the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), one in five of all fatalities recorded in the county.
National ONS figures suggest there has been a significant increase in the number of care homes deaths across the country, even as the casualty rate in hospitals appears to have reached its peak.
The latest figures up to April 17 show areas of Kent closest to London suffering from the highest rates of death by population – with Gravesham, Dartford and Sevenoaks all seeing more than 40 deaths per 100,000 residents.
Least affected are Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge and Malling, each with around 18 deaths per 100,000 people.
The ONS provides data based on all registered deaths where people had Covid-19 mentioned on their death certificate as a listed cause of death.
This information is published later than the NHS England figures for deaths in hospital because it takes longer for the ONS to certify doctors reports, produce death certificates and to publish its figures.
Speaking during the daily government press conference this evening, health secretary Matt Hancock announced that from tomorrow figures for the number of coronavirus deaths in care homes and in the community will also be published daily along with hospital deaths.
The ONS says its numbers are based on the local authority area where the deceased person lived so for a Canterbury resident who died at another hospital out of the area, their death would be listed under their home area rather than where the hospital is located.
England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, has previously warned there would likely be a “high mortality rate” in care homes during the coronavirus crisis.
