New data has revealed that the majority of COVID–19 related deaths in Stevenage have been in care homes.

At a meeting of Stevenage Borough Council’s executive, on Wednesday last week, councillors were presented wth a breakdown of COVID-19 deaths in the borough between March 1 and April 24.

That data – compiled by the Office of National Statistics – showed there had been 33 recorded COVID–19 deaths in Stevenage during that eight week period.

According to the figures, 17 of those deaths – just over half – had been in care home settings.

Meanwhile, the same data showed that across Hertfordshire in the same period there had been 645 COVID-19 deaths.

But the vast majority – 446 – had been recorded in hospital.

Stevenage was the only district or borough in the county where the majority of COVID–19 deaths, during that eight week period, had occurred in a care home setting.

The figures were presented as part of a report on the town’s COVID–19 position, the council’s response and the proposed approach to recovery.

During the debate, council leader Sharon Taylor also highlighted the number of patients who were recovering from the virus, following hospital treatment.

Councillor Taylor acknowledged that the coronavirus had had a “dreadful impact on the town, county, country – and internationally”.

But she said it would have been a lot worse had it not been for the considerable efforts of “our fantastic NHS”.

And after highlighting care staff and key workers, she also pointed to those who had put their own lives at risk – and some who had lost their lives – as a result of what they were doing for others.

Councillor Taylor reported that around 260 people that had been admitted to Lister Hospital, during the recent outbreak, had got better and had been discharged.

And she said those figures should not be overlooked when councillors looked at the “terrible” figures of those people who have lost their lives.

She also stressed that at no time had the hospital – run by the East and North Herts NHS Trust – been overwhelmed and that it had coped even when COVID–19 admissions were peaking.