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Coronavirus: More than 2,000 deaths in Wales with Covid-19

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The deaths include confirmed and suspected cases of coronavirus

There have now been a total of 2,007 deaths involving coronavirus in Wales, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figures include deaths occurring up to 15 May and registered by 23 May.

In the week ending 15 May, 180 deaths were registered involving Covid-19 - 23.3% of all registered deaths.

Rhondda Cynon Taff has the highest death rate in Wales, while Ceredigion has the lowest.

We can also look at "excess deaths"- where the number of deaths is higher than we would normally expect to see at this time of year.

This is an important indicator as to how severe pandemics like flu or coronavirus are, as well as the impact of extreme weather.

So there were 772 deaths for all causes in the week ending 15 May in Wales.

This is 137 more deaths than the five-year average.

The figures also show:

  • There were 67 deaths in care homes involving the virus, down from 76 in the previous week
  • Cardiff is the local council area with the most deaths in Wales so far - 329
  • Ceredigion has the lowest number of deaths - six
  • The local area with the highest death rate, when size of population in accounted for, is Rhondda Cynon Taff
  • There have been 237 deaths there - a rate of 98.6 deaths per 100,000 people

This is closely followed by Merthyr Tydfil (98), Newport (97.2) and Cardiff (90.3 deaths per 100,000).

Table of deaths by area

The total number of deaths registered across England and Wales in the week ending 15 May was 14,573.

This was 1,916 deaths more than the previous week but 3,380 lower than two weeks before. But it is still 4,385 more than the five-year average.

The ONS said next week's figures will be a better representation of any trend, as it will not include bank holidays.

The number of deaths in care homes was 2,350 higher than the five-year average

These weekly figures are for deaths where doctors suspect coronavirus was involved, not necessarily confirmed cases.

They include deaths occurring in all places - including in care homes, hospitals, hospices and people's homes.

The figures take longer to produce because they rely on a two-week period normally taken to register deaths.

Public Health Wales (PHW) provides separate daily figures which only include deaths confirmed as Covid-19 in a laboratory test and mostly in hospitals.

By the same date, PHW had reported 1,207 deaths - 800 fewer than those eventually registered and recorded by ONS.