Coronavirus UK deaths 41% than initial figures, ONS data says – with record high mortality for time of year The number of weekly deaths in care homes has doubled to 2,456, according to the ONS

New data from the Office of National Statistics has revealed that 18,516 people died of all causes in England and Wales in the week ending 10 April, making it the largest number for the time of year in modern record.

The death toll from coronavirus was 41 per cent higher than the figure in the daily total released by Government based on hospital reports.

The number of weekly deaths in care homes has doubled to 2,456 since the first Covid-19 related deaths were registered in the England and Wales.

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The ONS data collects all deaths related to coronavirus, including those in care homes, hospices and at home. As a result, it has significantly increased the disease’s overall death toll up to 11 days ago.

The provisional number of deaths registered in the week is 2,129 higher than the previous week, and 7,996 higher than the five-year average for the week – meaning that almost 8,000 more people died than might statistically be expected for the time of year.

Of the 18,516 deaths, 33.4 per cent included a reference to Covid-19 in the registration, meaning that the virus may directly have contributed to 6,213 additional deaths.

London’s outbreak

In London, which has been hit hardest by the outbreak, more than half of all death registrations mentioned coronavirus, while in the West Midlands, which has also suffered heavy impact, the number is above the national level at 37 per cent.

There were no coronavirus deaths among those aged 14 and under in the week in question, with the number increasing through the age brackets and peaking with victims aged between 75 and 84.

The death rate continues to be higher among men than women, most markedly in the 75-to-84 age bracket. This is consistent with expectations based on data from elsewhere, including the early WHO study in China.

The doubled rate of deaths in care homes is accompanied by an increase in proportion of deaths, up from 22.4 per cent of total deaths before the first coronavirus fatality to 26.6 per cent of all deaths now.

The ONS will begin to publish data on care home deaths from coronavirus specifically from 28 April on, it said in its summary.

The report only covers England and Wales for now, although Northern Ireland and Scotland could be included in data in the future.

11 days behind

The ONS collects all data where coronavirus is mentioned on the death certificate rather than limiting its scope to cases where there has been a positive test.

The data is currently running 11 days behind because of the time it takes to collect, as well as the potential lag in registering and processing deaths themselves.

In the most recent national data from the Department of Health and Social Care yesterday, 449 people had died as of 9am on 20 April, with the running total of hospital deaths among patients who had tested positive sitting at 16,509.

The UK now has the fifth most deaths in the world, after the United States, Spain, Italy and France.