Covid-19: Lisburn and Castlereagh's death toll two years on

Hundreds of people in Lisburn and Castlereagh have died from coronavirus since the pandemic reached the UK around two years ago.

Marie Curie is commemorating March 23 – two years after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the first UK-wide lockdown – as the National Day of Reflection.

The charity is urging people to come together to remember the lives of those lost to Covid-19, and support the millions of people across the UK who are grieving – as figures reveal the extent of the deadly toll in Lisburn and Castlereagh.

Figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency show that 346 Covid-19 related deaths were recorded in Lisburn and Castlereagh by March 4.

Of these, 161 occurred in 2020 and 152 in 2021, while 33 have occurred so far this year.

There were two weeks over this period when 12 people lost their lives in Lisburn and Castlereagh.

The deaths in the area were among 4,334 registered across Northern Ireland up to March 12.

Claire Collins, Marie Curie's bereavement coordinator, said coming together on March 23 is a way to "reflect on our collective losses in a mindful way".

She added: "There are still millions of people living with the deep trauma of losing a loved one during the last two years and we hope everyone finds comfort and embraces the day, whether you have had a close bereavement or not."

A minute's silence will be held at midday on Wednesday, March 23 to commemorate the day, and people are being encouraged to shine a light at 8pm or display flowers in their window to show support.

Separate figures from the UK coronavirus daily dashboard reveal the rate of deaths in Lisburn and Castlereagh within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test – a different measure than that used by the NISRA.

On March 16, the cumulative death rate – which covers the entire pandemic – stood at 168 deaths per 100,000 people in the area – compared to 172.1 across Northern Ireland.

The Health Foundation said there have been notably higher excess deaths in the UK over the pandemic compared to the rest of Europe, with some communities particularly hard hit.

Dr Jennifer Dixon, chief executive of the charity, said: "Working age adults in the poorest parts of the country were almost four times more likely to die from Covid-19 than those in the wealthiest areas.

"We owe it to those who lost their lives and their families to understand why, and how to build greater resilience against future threats to our health.

"This means sudden threats like Covid-19 as well as slow burn threats like increasing obesity and mental health conditions."