Welsh deaths from Covid-19 still falling but virus has claimed over 2,100 lives

The latest weekly figures for coronavirus deaths in Wales show that the disease claimed 134 lives in Wales in the week to 22 May. The total since the start of the pandemic is now 2,122.

The figures, from the Office for National Statistics, are based on all death certificates where Covid-19 was given as a cause of death. They are significantly higher than the daily figures released by Public Health Wales, which have reached 14,054. They only include patients who have died, usually in hospital, after testing positive for the disease.

The ONS figures, which cover all deaths in Wales, wherever they occurred, are broken down between hospitals, care homes and other locations:

  • Hospitals 82 deaths in (105 in the previous week)

  • Care Homes 44 deaths (67 in the previous week)

  • Elsewhere 8 deaths (Also 8 in the previous week)

The last week when the number of coronavirus deaths was this low in Wales was when the disease took 132 lives in the week to 3 April. At that stage in the pandemic, just 8 of the deaths were in care homes.