The areas of Berkshire where coronavirus cases are rising but deaths are falling

[Cookham v Coronavirus]

The number of deaths related to Covid-19 is falling in Berkshire - even as cases of coronavirus are rising in the area.

The anomaly was highlighted by the most recent government figures which showed that, the week ending August 21, no one died a Covid-19-related death in Berkshire, according to the Office for National Statistics.


That figure, from Wednesday (September 2) was down from three the week before.

Find out how you can get the latest news from BerkshireLive delivered straight to your inbox.

The figures are based on the number of deaths registered up to August 29, where Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate.

Overall, there have been 762 deaths across our area involving Covid-19 between the start of the outbreak and August 21.

Of those deaths, most - 423 - took place in hospital, with 281 in care homes.

There were also 42 deaths recorded at home, 11 in hospices, two in other communal establishments, and three elsewhere.

Other communal establishments include prisons, halls of residence, hotels, and sheltered accommodation, while elsewhere covers deaths outside and people declared dead on arrival at hospital.

Slough is still on a watch list after Government experts named it as one of 20 areas where the infection rate was concerning.

Figures from Public Health England (PHE) suggest around 99 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Berkshire in the week ending August 23.

The figures are calculated from infection rates in the local area based on Pillar 1 (hospital and care settings and Pillar 2 (drive-through test centres and swabs sent by post) testing.

The 99 positive tests in the week ending August 23 compares to 68 the week before and 50 in the week before that.

The highest infection rate per 100,000 people locally in the week ending August 23 was 25.2 in Windsor and Maidenhead, which compares to 8.0 the week before, and 5.3 the week before that.

The lowest infection rate recorded locally in the most recent week was 4.1 per 100,000 in Bracknell Forest, which compares to 6.6 in the week ending August 16, and 0.0 the week before that.

Cases and infection rates (per 100,000 people) for all Berkshire areas as of September 2

Reading : 864 cases (infection rate 534.1)
Slough : 768 cases (infection rate 513.6)
Wokingham : 646 cases (infection rate 377.5)
West Berkshire : 533 cases (infection rate 336.4)
Windsor and Maidenhead: 506 cases (infection rate 334.2)
Bracknell Forest : 415 cases (infection rate 338.6)
Government figures also give a more detailed picture of what is happening with Covid-19 cases and deaths in care homes.

Separate figures from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), show no deaths involving coronavirus in care homes in Berkshire in the week ending August 28.

That was the same as the week before.

Notifications about deaths in care homes are typically provided to the CQC within two to three days of death and are included based on the statement from the care home provider, so the person who died may not have had a medical diagnosis or a test result and Covid-19 may not have been mentioned on the death certificate.

The figures, also published this morning, show a total of 268 Covid-19 related deaths were notified to the CQC by care homes between April 10 and August 28.