10. Measuring the data

Week 15 includes the Good Friday bank holiday. Based on past years, we would expect the proportion of deaths occurring in the week ending Good Friday to drop for the period. The Coronavirus Act 2020 permitted Registry Offices to continue to take death registrations over the holiday period this year. This may reduce the usual drop in registration of deaths occurring in the week.

The high number of deaths recorded in Week 1 of 2000 should be treated with caution. While we saw a high number of influenza cases in this period we also need to consider caveats around early January registration data. The number of registration days in a reference period can impact upon mortality statistics. For example, bank holidays can affect the number of registrations within a week or month because of registration offices being closed. Because of the Christmas period we often see high death registrations in the first two weeks of January when registration services are back in office and dealing with any backlog over the bank holiday period.

More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in the Mortality statistics in England and Wales QMI.

To meet user needs, we publish very timely but provisional counts of death registrations in England and Wales in our Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional dataset. These are presented by sex, age group and regions (within England) as well as for Wales as a whole. To allow time for registration and processing, these figures are published 11 days after the week ends. Because of the rapidly changing situation, in this bulletin we have also given provisional updated totals based on the latest available death registrations, up to 18 April 2020.

Because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, our regular weekly deaths release now provides a separate breakdown of the numbers of deaths involving COVID-19: that is, where COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, including in combination with other health conditions. If a death certificate mentions COVID-19 it will not always be the main cause of death, but may be a contributory factor. This new bulletin summarises the latest weekly information and will be updated each week during the pandemic.

These figures are different from the daily surveillance figures on COVID-19 deaths published by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on the GOV.UK website, for the UK as a whole and constituent countries. Figures in this report are derived from the formal process of death registration and may include cases where the doctor completing the death certificate diagnosed possible cases of COVID-19, for example, where this was based on relevant symptoms but no test for the virus was conducted. Our figures also include any deaths that occur outside hospital.

In contrast to the GOV.UK figures, we include only deaths registered in England and Wales, which is the legal remit of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Table 1 provides an overview of the differences in definitions between sources.

Table 1: Definitions of COVID-19 deaths between different sources DHSC COVID-19

(as published on GOV.UK) ONS COVID-19

deaths registered ONS COVID-19 death

occurrence (actual

date of death) NHS England Coverage UK (however we only include England and Wales breakdowns for comparable coverage with ONS data) Registrations in England and Wales



In discussions with devolved nations to create UK estimates in the near future Registrations in England and Wales



In discussions with devolved nations to create UK estimates in the near future England Inclusion Deaths in hospitals Any place of death, including Nursing homes Any place of death, including Nursing homes Deaths in hospitals Deaths where patient has been tested for COVID-19 Deaths where COVID-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate Deaths where COVID-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate Deaths where patient has been tested for COVID-19 Timeliness Provided daily but not officially registered. Data are provided to NHS-E directly by hospitals. Weekly registrations are 11 days behind because of the time taken to register, process and publish. Weekly registrations are 11 days behind because of the time taken to register, process and publish. Updated daily for each date of death Data only published once confirmed family have been notified of death Registered in the week ending the 10 April 2020 (Week 15). Deaths which occurred in Week 15 but were registered up to 18 April 2020. Download this table Table 1: Definitions of COVID-19 deaths between different sources .xls .csv

We will publish accompanying articles periodically, giving enhanced information such as age-standardised and age-specific mortality rates for recent time periods and breakdowns of deaths involving COVID-19 by associated pre-existing health conditions.

Within the accompanying dataset we have also provided weekly provisional figures on COVID-19 deaths registered in the UK along with age breakdowns by UK, and sex and age breakdowns by Great Britain estimates.

There is usually a delay of at least five days between occurrence and registration. More information on this issue can be found in our impact of registration delays release.

Our User guide to mortality statistics provides further information on data quality, legislation and procedures relating to mortality and includes a glossary of terms.