Just one COVID-19-related death was recorded in South Hams in the last seven days, and the number of deaths relating to coronavirus in Devon and Cornwall has fallen for the second week in a row.

However, they are at still at one of the highest levels throughout the pandemic.

The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which relate to the week of January 30 to February 5, but registered up to February 13, show that 92 of the 433 deaths registered in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.

The 92 deaths is the fourth-highest total for a single week, with only the previous two weeks, plus the week of April 11-17 in 2020, recording higher totals.

But the numbers are starting to fall and from next week, the ONS figures should start to see the impact of the third national lockdown due to the time lag between infections and deaths.

Of the 92 deaths registered in week 5 (Jan 30-Feb 5), there were 30 deaths of people from Cornwall, 15 in Plymouth, 9 in Torbay, 9 in East Devon, 7 in Exeter, 7 in Teignbridge, 4 in North Devon, 1 in Mid Devon, 1 in South Hams and 1 in Torridge. No deaths in the Isles of Scilly or West Devon were registered.

47 of the deaths occurred in care homes, 41 in hospitals, with three at home, and one in a hospice.

A further seven deaths from week 4 (Jan 23-29) have been added into the figures this week (one in Plymouth and East Devon, five in Cornwall), three deaths from week 3 (Jan 16-22) – (one in Plymouth, Cornwall and Teignbridge), and one death from week 1 (Jan 2-8) – in Plymouth.

Previous weeks have seen 145, 150, 78, 55, 32, 46, 48, 52, 43, 43, 37, 24, 11, 13, 15, 6, 5, 2, 0, 3, 1, 2, 0, 1, 2, 1, 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, 1, 7, 10, 11, 15, 38, 44, 70, 85, 107, 90, 60, 16 and nine deaths registered.

In total, 1,483 deaths from coronavirus have been registered across Devon and Cornwall, with 822 in hospitals, 556 in care homes, 95 at home, three in a hospice, three in a communal establishment and four ‘elsewhere’.

So far in 2021, there have been 24 deaths in South Hams.

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.

Deaths that have occurred in hospitals following a positive coronavirus test since February 6 will be recorded in next week’s figures, as long as the deceased lived within Devon and Cornwall, the death has been registered, and Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

There were 43 deaths in Devon and Cornwall’s hospitals within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test in the period between January 30 and February 5, two higher than the ONS figures.

While the two measurements do not compare exact like-for-like details, it means that at least two of the deaths in the NHS England figures were either of people from outside Devon and Cornwall, or while they had died after a positive Covid-19 test, it did not contribute to their death.