COVID-19 contraction figures

WQ.139/2021

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY SENATOR K.L. MOORE

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON TUESDAY 6th APRIL 2021

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 13th APRIL 2021

Question

"Will the Minister advise how many individuals have contracted Covid-19 –

1. whilst in hospital and who have subsequently died, either from Covid-19 or due to other contributing factors; and
2. whilst in a care home and who have subsequently died, either from Covid-19 or due to other contributing factors;

and, within this breakdown, will he indicate how many of these deaths were directly the result of Covid- 19?"

Answer

The incubation period (time between exposure to the virus and symptom onset) for COVID-19 can be up to 14 days. Therefore, it is rarely possible to be conclusive about where a person has contracted the virus / where it has been transmitted as there are usually many interactions that take place in that period of time.

The Cause of Death' section on a death registration consists of four sections (1a, 1b, 1c and 2) for conditions which together present a narrative of the person's state of health at the point of their death. This gives comprehensive details of the conditions that lead to a person's death. Only those conditions which caused the death are included. Any condition which a person is suffering with at the time of their death but did not cause the death is not included. For example:

1a. The disease or condition that lead to the death (eg Respiratory Failure) 1b. Antecedent causes (eg Pneumonia)

1c. Morbid conditions giving rise to the above causes (eg Covid-19)

2. Other significant conditions contributing to the death but not related to the disease or condition causing it (eg Diabetes Mellitus, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

The full list of causes of death as recorded on the death certificates for all COVID-19 related deaths in Jersey up to 4th February 2021 was published in a recent Freedom of Information response: https://www.gov.je/government/freedomofinformation/pages/foi.aspx?ReportID=4319

The Government of Jersey publishes an annual deaths publication and the report for 2020 is provisionally scheduled for release in summer 2021. This will include analysis of underlying cause of death (as defined by the World Health Organisation). All of the conditions mentioned on the death certificate are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). From all of these causes, an underlying cause of death is selected using ICD-10 coding rules. For Jersey data, the cause of death data is coded and independently reviewed by clinical experts at the Office for National Statistics. This includes classification and coding of each individual death, with some standardisation to the causes, as there are instances where there are different terms used that broadly refer to the same thing eg "Stroke" and "Cerebral Accident".

Throughout the pandemic, the Government of Jersey has published data on deaths where Covid-19 is included on the death certificate and where those deaths took place. As at 7th April, the data are as follows:

Further detail on the deaths that were registered in 2020 and those that occurred in 2020 are included in the Annual Statement of the Superintendent Registrar (section 2.4 is COVID-19 related deaths): https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/ID%202020%20SI R%20Annual%20Statement.pdf