Care home coronavirus deaths surge past 11,000

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that on May 9 there were 214 deaths in care homes – 51 per cent of the total.

The ONS figures show 42,173 deaths involving Covid-19 had occurred in England and Wales up to May 15 when care home deaths are taken into account.

Separate figures show that in the Black Country, Staffordshire and Birmingham local authorities registered 527 care home deaths from Covid-19 between April 10 and May 22.

This includes 174 deaths in Staffordshire, 73 in Walsall, 34 in Sandwell, and 43 in Dudley and 53 in Wolverhampton.

There have been 72 care home deaths in the Shropshire Council area and 40 in Telford & Wrekin.

In total, there have now been 11,096 Covid-19 deaths in care homes in England, according to the ONS.

Overall, a third of deaths involving coronavirus took place outside hospital, with the majority in care homes.

However, the proportion of deaths in care homes that involved coronavirus fell to 37 per cent, from 39 per cent the previous week.

The Health Foundation said protecting those needing social care should be "given more obvious priority".

Chief executive Dr Jennifer Dixon said: "Targeted action to tackle local outbreaks in care homes must include effective testing and tracing, and ensuring consistent supplies of PPE to prevent a further spike in avoidable deaths."

The North West had the largest number of Covid-19-related deaths for the second week running with 620 deaths, overtaking London as the region with the highest proportion of deaths involving coronavirus.

There were 382 Covid-19 deaths in the West Midlands over the same period.