Number of Covid as sole cause of death in Jersey 2020 to 2024 (FOI)

​Request 708100377

Subject: COVID 19 as a Cause of Death – Data Integrity and Reporting Inconsistencies

I am writing to formally request clarification and disclosure under the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 in relation to the reporting of deaths attributed to COVID 19 in Jersey, particularly concerning the integrity, consistency, and sources of the data published across various official channels.

Request Details:

Can you confirm the total number of deaths in Jersey between 2020 and 2024 where COVID 19 was listed as the sole cause of death on the death certificate?

Please provide a year by year breakdown.

Please specify the classification criteria used in determining “sole cause.”

Can you confirm the total number of deaths where COVID 19 was listed as a contributing factor but not the sole cause?

Again, please provide this data annually for 2020 to 2024.

Include a definition or threshold used for categorising a contributing factor.

There appear to be material inconsistencies across the following sources:

The Annual Statements of the Superintendent Registrar (2020–2024);

The 2022 Jersey Independent COVID 19 Review;

States Assembly meeting transcripts and responses;

Previous FOI responses relating to COVID 19 deaths in Jersey.

Please explain:

Why these discrepancies exist?

Which source should be considered the authoritative record of COVID 19 related mortality in Jersey?

Whether there has been any revision, suppression, or alteration of cause of death data since the original certification?

Please provide the protocols and guidance given to medical professionals and registrars during 2020–2022 regarding how to record COVID 19 on death certificates.

What audit processes were in place (or are currently in place) to ensure accuracy and independence in the death recording system, especially where COVID 19 was concerned?

Please provide any internal communication, memos, or guidance notes from the Public Health and/or Superintendent Registrar that discuss how COVID 19 deaths were to be reported or interpreted in public-facing documents.

Has the Government of Jersey conducted or commissioned any internal reviews or reconciliations of death data related to COVID 19?

If so, please disclose any findings, reports, or recommendations.

Background & Rationale:

The apparent discrepancies between official reports including annual death statistics, COVID 19 review findings, and FOI responses raise serious concerns about data transparency and the public record. For example, figures published in the 2020 and 2021 Annual Reports list COVID 19 as a cause of death in limited cases, while media and public health briefings suggested far higher numbers. In later years (2022–2024), COVID 19 appears inconsistently or not at all.

Response

An initial review of the information requested included a search for ‘number of COVID deaths’ within published FOI responses Freedom of Information requests and responses, resulted in 43 search results. ‘COVID deaths’ produced 81 results Freedom of Information requests and responses​. A check of each response to confirm how the FOI relates to COVID deaths and then an analysis and comparison of data would be required to answer this FOI. This would include cross-checking the other sources identified in the request:

The Annual Statements of the Superintendent Registrar (2020–2024);

The 2022 Jersey Independent COVID 19 Review;

States Assembly meeting transcripts and responses;

The search of the relevant Public Health and Office of the Superintendent Registrar internal communications returned a significant amount of emails, which would need to be manual checked to ascertain if they ‘discuss how COVID 19 deaths were to be reported or interpreted in public-facing documents.’ 

Therefore, responding to this FOI would exceed the 12.5 hours allowed for Freedom of Information responses in accordance with Regulation 2 (1) of the Freedom of Information (Costs) (Jersey) Regulations 2014. Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has therefore been applied.

Article applied

Article 16 - A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive

(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations. 

(2) Despite paragraph (1), a scheduled public authority may still supply the information requested on payment to it of a fee determined by the authority in the manner prescribed by Regulations for the purposes of this Article.

(3) Regulations may provide that, in such circumstances as the Regulations prescribe, if two or more requests for information are made to a scheduled public authority –

(a) by one person; or

(b) by different persons who appear to the scheduled public authority to be acting in concert or in pursuance of a campaign, the estimated cost of complying with any of the requests is to be taken to be the estimated total cost of complying with all of them.