As a COVID Health Protection Board is created for Dorset to tackle any new coronavirus flare ups, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has released an update on the numbers of COVID-19 related deaths for our region.
The new data now includes stats for June 2020, so now looks at COVID-19 related deaths that occurred between 1st March 2020 and 30th June 2020. It shows that there were no further COVID-19 related deaths in Purbeck in June.
This means that in Swanage there were no COVID-19 related deaths for the whole period from 1st March to 30th June 2020.
For the rest of Purbeck, described in the stats as Corfe Castle and Langton Matravers, there were three COVID-19 related deaths for the period 1st March to 30th June 2020, with two deaths in April and one in May. There were no COVID-19 related deaths in June 2020.
COVID-19 related deaths in Purbeck from 1st March to 30th June 2020
- Swanage 0
- Corfe Castle and Langton Matravers 3 (2 in April and 1 in May)
COVID-19 related deaths in areas surrounding Purbeck from 1st March to 30th June 2020
- Bovington, Wool and Lulworth 1 (1 in May)
- Wareham, Sandford and Holton Heath 4 (3 in April and 1 in May)
- Bere Regis and Lytchett Matravers 3 (1 in April and 2 in May)
South West of England saw the lowest proportion of deaths involving COVID-19
Over the four-month period, the South West of England saw the lowest proportion of deaths involving COVID-19. Of the 21,094 total deaths in the region, 2,872 were COVID-19 related , making up 13.6% of the total deaths.
Conversely the region with the highest proportion of deaths involving COVID-19 was London with 8,438, making up 34.5% of the 24,466 total deaths.
“In June we have seen a large decrease in the proportion of deaths involving COVID-19”
Head of Mortality Analysis, Office for National Statistics, Sarah Caul said:
“Following the peak recorded in April, in June we have seen a large decrease in the proportion of deaths involving COVID-19 across all English regions and Wales. London experienced the largest decrease over the period from having more than 1 in 2 deaths in April which involved COVID-19 to only about 1 in 20 deaths in June that were related to the coronavirus.
“The South West region continued to have the lowest proportion of COVID-19 deaths in June with about 1 in 30 deaths involving the coronavirus, while the North West had the highest where 1 in 8 deaths in June were COVID-19 related.”
Check all areas of England and Wales using this interactive map
A new COVID Health Protection Board for Dorset
While these statistics show that Swanage and the surrounding areas have experienced low levels of coronavirus infection from March to June 2020, a new COVID Health Protection Board for Dorset has now been set up to monitor and respond to any new coronavirus outbreaks in Dorset.
Sam Crowe, Director of Public Health for Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Councils, will chair the Board. He said:
“It’s really important that we use this time to prepare for the future. Our outbreak management plans are crucial as we start to see society get going again. The Health Protection Board will ensure everyone knows exactly what they need to do, if we start to see a rise in cases or outbreaks in particular settings.”
Public Health Dorset says that the COVID Health Protection Board will work closely with businesses and organisations in various sectors such as care, tourism, hospitality and manufacturing to make sure preventative measures are in place to keep the public safe.
Councillor Spencer Flower, Leader of Dorset Council, said:
“Dorset’s Health Protection Board will ensure that everything possible is being done to prevent, monitor and respond to any local COVID-19 outbreaks. I hope this gives reassurance to local residents and communities.”
Watch the video of Director of Public Health, Sam Crowe, talking about the board and the latest coronavirus situation in Dorset
For further information
Read the full ONS report released Friday 24th July 2020.
