Borough's areas with highest numbers of Covid-19 related deaths revealed

The places in Wigan borough which have seen the biggest impact from the four months of the coronavirus pandemic have been revealed.
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Leigh East and Higher Folds has suffered more deaths linked to coronavirus than any other areas of Wigan borough, new figures show.

It is not the first time during the pandemic that this has been identified by Office for National Statistics (ONS) data as a local Covid-19 hotspot.

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Public health experts have said that it is likely this area has been worst affected owing to the number and size of care homes for vulnerable and elderly residents in the neighbourhood.

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There were 19 deaths involving coronavirus in the four-month period in Pemberton South and 16 in Leigh North, with 15 in Ashton-in-Makerfield West and 14 in Standish South.

By contrast there was just one in Tyldesley South and three in five other neighbourhoods within the borough.

Covid-19 has had the biggest impact as cause of death in Abram and Bickershaw.

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Although there were only seven deaths involving Covid-19 there the comparatively-low all-cause mortality rate meant 58.3 per cent of everyone who passed away in the area did so in circumstances involving the coronavirus in some way.

The next highest rate was in Standish South, where 43.8 per cent of all deaths were of people with Covid-19.

In Leigh East and Higher Folds 42.5 per cent of deaths involved the coronavirus.

The latter area also had most deaths for any reason between March and the end of June, with 73.

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Pemberton South had the second-highest total of all-cause deaths with 56.

The figures are based on deaths where the coronavirus was either the underlying cause of death or mentioned on the death certificate.

The total includes deaths between March 1 and June 30 and those which were registered up to July 11.

Anti-poverty charity Turn2us urged the Government to focus on levelling up neighbourhoods, not just the regions of the UK.

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Sara Willcocks, head of communications at the charity, said: “We may all be weathering the same storm, but we are certainly not all in the same boat. For a society that believes in compassion, we must right these wrongs of social injustices.

“We urge the government to focus on levelling up not just regions of the UK but also our neighbourhoods.

“Everyone deserves the right to access high quality jobs, affordable housing and a strong social security system that gives people the support they need; when they need it, so local communities can thrive together.”

In Wigan, 344 people have died since the start of the pandemic, with 23 deaths linked to coronavirus in June.

Deprived areas across England had death rates related to Covid-19 of more than double that of the most affluent parts – 139.6 per 100,000 compared to 63.4.