Nearly 1,500 people have died with Covid-19 in Northamptonshire since the pandemic began last yearNearly 1,500 people have died with Covid-19 in Northamptonshire since the pandemic began last year
Nearly 1,500 people have died with Covid-19 in Northamptonshire since the pandemic began last year

Map shows no corner of Northamptonshire has been spared with Covid deaths set to reach 1,500

Vaccine rollout, fewer hospital patients and positive tests all give hope for future

Northamptonshire's Covid-19 death toll is climbing towards 1,500 — and no corner of the county has been spared its share of grief for lost loved ones.

Two more victims reported this week in the county's acute NHS hospitals added to a grim number since the first fatalities in the county on March 16 last year.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 1,426 Northamptonshire residents had died with Covid up to the end of March 2021.

Latest NHS and ONS figures show 1,488 were known to have died in the county's hospitals and care settings as at April 24 — although the true figure is likely to be much higher due to a delay in counting care home residents during the early days of the pandemic.

An ONS interactive map shows figures among residents are broken down by 89 local areas and include deaths "due to Covid-19" where Covid-19 was the underlying cause of death.

Public Health officials remain cautiously optimistic that the next step of relaxing lockdown restrictions will go ahead as planned on May 17, however.

Numbers of patients behind treated in hospital have fallen into single figures and case rates are dropping down across most parts of Northamptonshire as the vaccination rollout continues with more than half-a-million doses now delivered.

Groups of up to six people will be able to get together indoors and more entertainment venues — such as cinemas and theatres — will be able to open under the government's roadmap.

Northampton now has the highest rate among Northamptonshire's seven former districts and boroughs following an outbreak at a business in the town earlier this month.