Coronavirus deaths have begun to rise again following a surge in cases on Merseyside.
Seven people across the region died of Covid-19 during the week up to September 18, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics.
The figure is Merseyside’s highest weekly death toll since mid-July and follows two weeks in which confirmed Covid-19 cases began to rise rapidly, suggesting these may have been the first deaths of the region’s “second wave”.
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All seven deaths occurred in hospitals, with four being recorded in Liverpool and three in Wirral.
The statistics, published weekly by the ONS, include all deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, meaning it was either the main cause of death or a contributing factor.
During the previous week, there were just three deaths in the region while the week before that saw only one.
Merseyside’s total death toll now stands at 1,820 since the beginning of the crisis, meaning Covid-19 accounts for 12% of all deaths in the region this year.
The week up to September 18 also saw the number of patients hospitalised with Covid-19 or requiring ventilation rise significantly.
Although figures for Merseyside are not publicly available, the North West saw the number of Covid-19 patients in hospital increase by 73% while the number of patients on ventilators doubled.
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