Heartbreaking toll of coronavirus in Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport and Havant revealed in number of 'excess deaths'
THE number of ‘excess deaths’ in April across the Portsmouth area and beyond has been published.
On average, Portsmouth has seen 146 deaths in April in the last five years.
But this year the city has seen 222 deaths – an additional 76 deaths and 52 per cent change, data from the Office of National Statistics shows.
In Fareham there have been 82 additional deaths, a total of 177, compared with the average number of deaths in the same month for the last five years of 95 deaths – an additional 86 per cent.
Gosport has had 59 ‘extra’ deaths this month, a 79 per cent change, and in Havant, there have been 195 deaths this year, which is 85 more than the average for the last five Aprils, a 78 per cent increase.
Although the causes for each death are unknown – as they are taking from Office for National Statistics figures which do not record death certificate details – the blanket rise across this area and the whole country sheds some light on the impact of the coronavirus.
Former Gosport police sergeant Lesley Meenaghan told The News in April that her mum Ann Milligan had died on April 9 from double pneumonia and Covid-19.
Ann was admitted to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham on March 26 in poor health with COPD and due to this she could not go on a ventilator.
Lesley paid tribute to the ‘amazing’ QA Hospital staff and said her mother was a ‘a kind, gentle trusting soul’ who made her family smile at the things she said.
Newspaper columnist Ian Burrell paid tribute to his dad Merrick who died at the end of March and who, just days before he fell ill, had attended Pompey’s cup tie with Arsenal.
In a tribute to his dad, he said: ‘This coronavirus nightmare has been largely reported in terms of statistics, the horrifying death toll that grows each day.
‘But the people we are losing are real and we must think of the human cost of this tragedy as we live among each other and try to abide by the rules of lockdown.’
Queen Alexandra Hospital has reported a total of 225 people had died in hospital as of 5pm on Wednesday (May 27) but yesterday told The News that more than 360 people have recovered from Covid-19 and had been discharged.