MORE than 3,000 people in the city region have now died of COVID-19 after deaths rose again in the first week of 2021.

A total of 77 virus deaths were recorded across the region in the week up to January 8, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday (January 19).

This was the second week in a row that saw the region’s weekly death toll rise after a period when deaths had been falling and reflects the rapid rise in cases seen towards the end of 2020.

The city region’s total death toll for the pandemic now stands at 3,044, meaning almost one in every 500 residents has died of Covid-19 since the start of the crisis.

The ONS figures count all deaths where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, meaning it was either the primary cause of death or a contributing factor.

The rise in deaths had been expected by experts after the alarming increase in infections throughout the region, which saw more than 1% of the population catch COVID-19 in the weeks following Christmas.

Although infections appear to have peaked on January 8 and have been falling steadily since then, the time between a patient catching the virus and then dying means the death toll is likely to continue increasing for the next few weeks.

The grim start to 2021 saw deaths rise sharply in several of the region's boroughs, particularly in St Helens which recorded 10 deaths compared to just one in the last week of 2020.

Sefton and Wirral both recorded 17 deaths during the week, up from 12 and 13 respectively, while Halton saw its death toll rise from five to eight.

Both Knowsley and Liverpool recorded the same number of deaths as in the previous week, seeing six and 19 respectively.

Almost all of the region’s COVID-19 deaths during the week occurred in hospitals, with only four care home residents dying of the disease.