COVID-19: Devon cases continued to rise over last week of October

The number of new coronavirus cases confirmed at the end of October had risen across Devon and Cornwall – except in Exeter.

The total confirmed number of cases has hit 10,000 across the two counties, with Plymouth's figures rising over the 2,000 mark today.

Government statistics show that 1,662 new cases were confirmed across the region over the last week of October in both pillar 1 data from tests carried out by the NHS, and pillar 2 data from commercial partners, compared to 1,395 new cases confirmed last week.

Cases rose everywhere except for Exeter, which saw a drop for the second successive week, while the rises in East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon and West Devon were in single figures.

The largest rises occurred in Plymouth and Cornwall, while Torbay also saw cases rise significantly.

Of the 1,662 new cases, 311 were in Cornwall, 124 in East Devon, 196 in Exeter, 52 in Mid Devon, 64 in North Devon, 426 in Plymouth, 76 in the South Hams, 117 in Teignbridge, 213 in Torbay, 35 in Torridge and 38 in West Devon.

This compares to the 1,395 new cases confirmed the previous week, of which 188 were in Cornwall, 116 in East Devon, 252 in Exeter, 47 in Mid Devon, 55 in North Devon, 369 in Plymouth, 54 in the South Hams, 89 in Teignbridge, 182 in Torbay, 18 in Torridge and 35 in West Devon.

Of the 1,662 new cases, 1,108 had a specimen day between October 23 and 29 – compared to the 894 of the 1,395 of the previous week's cases that had specimen date of between October 16 and 22.

Of the 1,108 of the cases had a specimen date of between October 23 and October 29, 184 of the Cornwall cases occurred in that period, with 88 in East Devon, 116 in Exeter, 36 in Mid Devon, 56 in North Devon, 298 in Plymouth, 60 in the South Hams, 69 in Teignbridge, 152 in Torbay, 26 in Torridge and 23 in West Devon.

Maps by specimen date show cases are trending down in Exeter, while East Devon and Mid Devon are fairly flat but falling in the most recent data.

The number of people in hospital in the South West has rose to 386 from 248 and there were 34 people on a mechanical ventilator.

The number of people in hospital across Devon and Cornwall following a positive COVID-19 test rose by 20 per cent in the last week of October.

As of Tuesday, October 27, there were 99 people in Devon's hospitals and four in Cornwall.

The Devon figure had risen from 73 as of Tuesday, October 20, but there was no change to the total in Cornwall.

Of the 103 patients, there were 33 in Torbay Hospital (up from 30), 32 in Derriford Hospital in Plymouth (22), 23 at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (14), 11 in the North Devon District Hospital (7), four at the Royal Cornwall Hospital (3), but no-one in Cornish Partnership Trust hospitals (down from 1).

As of October 27, there were nine patients in Mechanical Ventilation beds – two in Torbay, Derriford and Exeter, and three in the Royal Cornwall hospital – up from six as of October 20.

During the last week of October, ten people died in hospitals in Devon following a positive COVID-19 test, with one each in North Devon and Exeter, two in Plymouth, and six in Torbay.

In total, 610 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall, with 320 in hospitals, 242 in care homes, 46 at home, one in a hospice, and one in a communal establishment.

Of the deaths, 213 have been registered in Cornwall, 102 in Plymouth, 71 in Torbay, 51 in East Devon, 39 in Exeter, 34 in Teignbridge, 27 in North Devon, 21 in Torridge, 20 in Mid Devon, 19 in West Devon, 13 in the South Hams and none on the Isles of Scilly.

The figures show in which local authority the deceased's usual place of residence was. For instance, if someone may have died in Derriford Hospital but lived in West Devon, while the death may have been registered in Plymouth, their death would be recorded in the mortality statistics for the ONS figures against West Devon.