Worthing's coronavirus death rate among the lowest in England and Wales

A report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released on May 1 has revealed 16 coronavirus related deaths were recorded in Worthing up to the week ending April 17.

That figure includes, from March 31, any instances where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate.

The ONS' investigation looked at how deprivation - a region's social and economic health - affected coronavirus death rates.

It found Worthing has suffered a coronavirus death rate of 11.7 per 100,000 people between March 1 and April 17, placing it in the lowest 11 per cent for England and Wales.

Government figures rank Worthing as the 175th most deprived area in England, out of 311, taking into account income, employment, education, health, cirme, barriers to housing and living and living environment.

The ONS found more deprived areas suffered higher death rates than less deprived areas, with extra calculations made to take into account the age of the population.

But these latest coronavirus figures show Worthing is punching above its weight in how it has been affected by the pandemic.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 37 people have now been reported to have had coronavirus mentioned on their death certificate in Worthing, registered up to the week ending May 2. Due to a delay in how deaths are recorded, that total only covers the period from January 1 to April 24.

For a full breakdown of local authority coronavirus death rates, follow this link.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.