{"id":17050,"date":"2021-02-19T10:31:01","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T10:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/?p=17050"},"modified":"2022-03-23T13:55:09","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T13:55:09","slug":"just-113-covid-19-deaths-in-northern-ireland-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/health\/just-113-covid-19-deaths-in-northern-ireland-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Just 113 COVID-19 deaths in Northern Ireland since the start of the pandemic?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At face value, the figure is contradicted by other evidence and ignores or misunderstands comorbidity and causes of death. Data shows that by the end of September 2020, COVID-19 was the underlying cause of death for 808 deaths (89.6%) of the 902 COVID-19-related deaths registered. <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A <\/b>Facebook post<\/b><\/a> shared 100 times in less than a day claims that there have been \u201c113 covid deaths in all of Northern Ireland since the start of the \u2018pandemic\u2019\u201d.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comments under the Facebook post add more context to the discussion, such as Freedom of Information requests being submitted to health trusts and statistical agencies requesting data on deaths that were solely<\/b> attributed to COVID-19 and had no other underlying health conditions. Many more Facebook posts are sharing the \u201c113 deaths solely due to COVID-19\u201d statistic and attracting comments that question the seriousness of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between March and September 2020, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) analysed death certificates from March to November 2020<\/a> and found that 114 COVID-19-related deaths (8.1%) had no pre-existing conditions. However, that does not mean that COVID-19 was not a causality in the other deaths. After coding and analysing each death certificate, NISRA found that COVID-19 was listed as the underlying cause of death for 808 deaths (89.6%) of the wider group of 902 COVID-19-related deaths (where COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate) registered by the end of September 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To claim that just over a hundred people have died from COVID-19 in Northern Ireland ignores and\/or misunderstands comorbidity and causes of death. It is important to ask: What is comorbidity? How are COVID-19 deaths measured? How can we understand these statistics better?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is comorbidity?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comorbidity<\/a> is defined by the English Department of Health as the co-occurrence of two or more long term conditions in a person. The Office of National Statistics lists the leading causes of death<\/a> in England and Wales, in an online spreadsheet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Counting COVID-19 deaths in Northern Ireland<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FactCheckNI has previously published an explainer article outlining the three different sets of figures that are published<\/a> with varied timeliness regarding numbers of deaths attributed to COVID-19: daily, weekly, and quarterly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n