The hidden heartache behind Atherstone's revised Covid-19 death toll

GOVERNMENT REVIEW INVOLVING 28-DAY WINDOW OF INCLUSION FROM TESTING POSITIVE SEES LOCAL VIRUS FATALITY FIGURES FALL BY 19

BUT BOROUGH JUST OUTSIDE 'TOP TEN' LEAGUE TABLE FOR DEATH RATE PER HEAD OF CAPITA

ATHERSTONE remains one of the country's hotspots for Covid fatality rates per head of capita despite seeing its official recorded death toll reduced today.

New Department of Health figures have seen the borough's grim tally cut by 19 – to 68.

The revised statistics are the result of Health Secretary Matt Hancock announcing a downward revision earlier this month which slashed the total by 5,377 across England's local authorities.

Before the adjustment Atherstone's number of victims to the end of June was 15 against a then 'current' borough total of 87.

The new statistics have been devised as England comes into line with Scotland and Northern Ireland which only count a fatality as Covid-related in the first 28 days of a person testing positive.

But that reduction – which sees Warwickshire's new official death tally from Covid fall from 538 to 445 – has had no impact on the fatality rate per 100,000 population.

Atherstone and North Warwickshire finds their death rate per capita of 104.2 per 100,000 people, putting the borough in 13th place in a local authority league table which is topped by Hertsmere in Hertfordshire at 130.6 per 100,000. Neighbouring Nuneaton and Bedworth is inside the Top Ten in ninth spot with a rate of 111.6.

The borough is second only to Nuneaton and Bedworth among neighbouring authorities, including Birmingham and Coventry, in its death rate figures.

The new stats now show the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic of people who had had a positive test result for Covid-19 and died within 28 days of the first positive test.

The actual cause of death may no longer be Covid-19 in all cases.

People who died from Covid-19 but had not tested positive are not included and people who died from Covid-19 more than 28 days after their first positive test are also excluded from the calculations.

Data from the four nations are not directly comparable as methodologies and inclusion criteria vary. Only data available for the latest reported date are now shown.

The UK death toll today stands at 41,477 – up 12 on the previous day.

North Warwickshire has recorded 358 coronavirus cases since the pandemic started in March at a rate of 548.5 per 100,000 population. Warwickshire's overall case total is now 2,734.

Yesterday Nub News reported the welcome news that there had been no deaths recorded across the whole of Warwickshire in the first two weeks of August, according to Office for National Statistics figures.

Here is the combined upper and lower tier authority table:

Leading local authority fatality rates per 100,000 population

Folkestone and Hythe 122.1

Middlesbrough 118.5

Bromsgrove 117.1

Epping Forest 113.1

Ashford 110

Walsall 105.1

Birmingham 84

Hinckley and Bosworth 69.8

North West Leicestershire 53.1