A government review of death certificates since the start of the pandemic has identified ten additional deaths as being Covid-19 related, taking the total number of deaths in the island to 48.

The government said that more than 1,400 death certificates from January 2020 had been reviewed for any mention of Covid-19, regardless of whether the individuals had the virus at the time of death.

In some instances, ’the cause of death may only have been confirmed after a prolonged period’, it said.

Three of the 10 deaths now classified as Covid-related were reported on Monday (September 6).

Since then, seven other deaths have also been identified as covid-related.

Deaths are no longer reported on the government’s Covid-19 online dashboard.

Director of public health Dr Henrietta Ewart said: ’Having completed our review of death certificates going back to the start of the pandemic, we will continue to monitor causes of the death on the Island on a weekly basis for our ongoing surveillance reports.

’This will ensure we have the full picture and that all Covid-related deaths are included in official figures and is in line with methods utilised by other jurisdictions.’

Chief Minister Howard Quayle said: ’It is absolutely vital that the government and the public has the full picture in relation to Covid-19 and the loss of life in our community.

’Given the wider range of settings and time delay that can occur in certification, the Council of Ministers has agreed that the weekly public health surveillance reports will be used as the primary method for reporting Covid-related deaths going forward.

’Whilst this will mean a shift to weekly instead of daily reporting of any Covid-related fatalities, it is important that everyone can have access to accurate data and that they can have faith in the completeness of that data.’

The reports are at covid19.gov.im/guidance-for-public-health/weekly-public-health-surveillance-report/