Covid: Weekly deaths at highest level since March in England and Wales, ONS says

Coronavirus-related fatalities up 24 per cent on previous seven days

Coronavirus-related deaths in England and Wales have hit their highest weekly total since the end of March, new figures show.

A total of 404 deaths registered in the week ending 30 July mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This was up 24 per cent on the previous week and was the highest number since 719 deaths were registered in the week to 26 March.

Deaths dipped as low as 84 in the week to 11 June.

The latest figures reflect the impact of the third wave of Covid-19, which began in the UK in May and led to a sharp increase in the number of new cases of coronavirus as well as a smaller rise in hospital patients.

The number of new cases has fallen in recent weeks but this is yet to be reflected in the data for deaths, due to the length of time between someone getting Covid-19, becoming seriously ill and then dying.

While the number of deaths in the latest data was the highest for four months, it was still well below the level seen at the peak of the second wave.

Some 8,433 deaths involving Covid-19 were registered in England and Wales in the week to 29 January.

There were 10,135 deaths registered overall in England and Wales in the week ending 30 July, 12 per cent above the pre-pandemic five-year average, the ONS said.

Some 49 care home resident deaths involving Covid-19 in England and Wales were registered in the week to 30 July, up from 35 in the previous week.

In total, 42,698 care home residents in England and Wales have had Covid-19 recorded on their death certificate since the pandemic began.

The ONS figures cover deaths of care home residents in all settings, not just in care homes.

A total of 155,667 deaths have now occurred in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, the ONS said.

The highest number of deaths to occur on a single day was 1,484 on 19 January.

During the first wave of the virus, the daily toll peaked at 1,461 deaths on 8 April 2020.

Additional reporting by Press Association