#Carehomes across England have been affected by #COVID19 but the risk might not be the same everywhere.

our new analysis goes beyond the national picture to see how the toll of COVID-19 in care homes is spread across the country & which regions might need more support

1/ https://twitter.com/HealthFdn/status/1265681777240178691

At first glance the south-east of England seems to have been affected most, with 2,107 COVID-related deaths among care home residents by 1 May - more than any other region.

For comparison, the region with fewest deaths was the north-east of England, which had only 827.

But the percentage of care homes that have reported outbreaks is highest in the north-east (49%).

The total burden may have been higher in the south-east but the total spread and local impact of COVID in the north might be greater than it first appears 3/

Care homes are not evenly distributed across the country, so we used a crude way to estimate the # of residents per region (*lots* of caveats - see blog).

This changes the picture. Relative to the # of care home beds, London and the north had the greatest # of deaths
4/

Many factors might contribute, such as
local transmission routes
underlying conditions & health needs of residents
resources that enable providers to adapt

More granular and up-to-date data needed to fully understand the impact on care home residents & staff
5/5