Coronavirus deaths in the Anglia region continue to fall but 'stay home' warning in Luton

Coronavirus statistics in the Anglia region picture collage
According to the Office of National Statistics 5,940 people have died with coronavirus in the Anglia region from the start of the pandemic until 10th July 2020. Credit: PA Images

The number of people dying with coronavirus in the Anglia region is continuing to fall but there has been a rise in the number of new positive tests for Covid-19 in some places.

In Luton, the weekly number of new cases reported has doubled in the past fortnight prompting the town's Director of Health to issue specific "stay at home" advice.

The local council is also advising people in the LU4 postcode area of the town to get tested after a cluster of new cases was discovered. The postcodes affected are:

LU4 8LP - LU4 8LR - LU4 8LS - LU4 8LT - LU4 8LU - LU4 8LX - LU4 8NU - LU4 8PF

The weekly deaths have declined for the twelfth consecutive week in the area with 42 deaths recorded in the latest week to 3rd July, which is down from 69 the previous week.

The number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in the Anglia region in the past fortnight has increased. In the two weeks to Friday 17 July, there were 943 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the Anglia region. That was an increase of 92 compared with the previous fortnight when 851 people tested positive.

More than 70% of the people who have died with coronavirus in the Anglia region died in hospital Credit: ITV News Anglia

On Tuesday, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) issued the latest information on people dying with coronavirus or with coronavirus mentioned on the death certificate. It reveals that 5,940 have died in the Anglia region since the the start of the pandemic.

The ONS is the most reliable single source of data as it relies on the registrations of deaths and information on death certificates but that means there is a delay in the information coming through. So the latest ONS statistics cover the period up to 10th July.

There is also more recent information available that can be incorporated into the totals.

The Care Quality Commission says 11 additional care home residents in the Anglia region had died in the week to 17th July. The NHS has also reported that 22 patients have died in hospitals in the region between 11th and 19th July.

Using all the available information, the total coronavirus death toll in the Anglia region is now 5,973, which is 34 more than last week.

Coronavirus deaths peaked in the Anglia region in the middle of April and have been falling for the past 12 weeks. Credit: Data from the Office of National Statistics

In Luton in Bedfordshire, the number of new positive tests for coronavirus was 76 in the week to Friday 17 July which is twice the number a fortnight ago.

It has led to the town's Director of Public Health to urge people to stay at home as the Prime Minister has been starting to encourage people back to work.

The infection rate in Luton is among the 10 highest in the UK at 35 cases per 100 thousand.

Luton has seen the weekly total of new coronavirus cases double in the past fortnight. Credit: ITV News Anglia

Most of the victims of coronavirus in the Anglia region have died in hospital, around 72%.

More than 1,300 residents died in local care homes representing 23% of the total deaths. More than 200 people died in their own homes which was just under 4% of the total with a further 88 dying in hospices (1.5%)

Overall, Bedfordshire has seen the highest death rate in the Anglia region per head of population with the lowest rate in Norfolk.

Across the region, 84 people have died with coronavirus in every 100,000 of the population.

Numbers of deaths in each county in the Anglia region per 100,000 population

Data from the Office of National Statistics until 10 July 2020

  • Bedfordshire - 98 deaths per 100,000

  • Cambridgeshire - 59 deaths per 100,000

  • Essex - 94 deaths per 100,000

  • Hertfordshire - 92 deaths per 100,000

  • Milton Keynes - 73 deaths per 100,000

  • Norfolk - 54 deaths per 100,000

  • Northamptonshire - 96 deaths per 100,000

  • Suffolk - 73 deaths per 100,000

The map shows the number of people with coronavirus who have died in each county in the Anglia region. Credit: Data from Office of National Statistics, the NHS and the Care Quality Commission

The highest death rates in the Anglia region according the official data from the ONS are in Epping Forest (140 deaths per 100,000 population), Northampton (121) and the Tendring area of Essex around Clacton and Harwich (116).

The areas with the lowest number of coronavirus deaths per head of population are Norwich (18 deaths per 100,000 population), South Cambridgeshire (39), South Norfolk (42) and West Suffolk (42).

The Anglia region consists of the East of England counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk plus Northamptonshire and the unitary area of Milton Keynes.

Coronavirus: Everything you need to know