Covid not leading cause of death in England and Wales for first time since October

Virus death rate also at lowest since autumn

March was the first month since October in which coronavirus was no longer the leading cause of death in England and Wales, new figures show.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that Covid-19 was the third biggest cause of death in both countries last month, accounting for 9.2 per cent of all deaths registered in England and 6.3 per cent in Wales.

The virus had been the leading cause of death each month from November to February.

In March, the leading cause of death in England was dementia and Alzheimer's disease, which were behind 10.1 per cent of all deaths. In Wales, it was ischaemic heart disease, accounting for 11.8 per cent of all deaths.

The death rate for Covid-19 was also down in March. At 89.3 per 100,000 people in England, it was the lowest rate since November and in Wales, at 65.2 per 100,000, it was the lowest since October.

On Wednesday, the government said a further 22 people had died after testing positive Covid, bringing the UK total to 127,327 since the beginning of the pandemic.

The ONS monthly mortality analysis shows there were 45,567 deaths recorded in England in March, 1.5 per cent above the five-year average for March. Wales saw 2,984 deaths in March, 2.8 per cent below the five-year average.

March was also the first month where Covid was not the leading cause of death in Scotland, according to National Records of Scotland figures released last week.

Additional reporting by agencies