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Weekly coronavirus deaths rise by more than half in seven days – ONS


By PA News

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Coronavirus deaths doubled roughly every two weeks in September, with the number of deaths involving Covid-19 in England and Wales rising by more than half in seven days, official figures show.

There were 215 deaths registered in the week ending September 25 mentioning “novel coronavirus” – 2.2% of all deaths in England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

It was the third weekly rise in a row and represents a 54.6% increase in deaths involving Covid-19 from the previous week, when 139 deaths were registered.

The previous week saw 99 deaths involving coronavirus registered.

The figures also reveal that the number of excess deaths not linked to Covid-19 in private homes in England and Wales since the start of the pandemic has passed 25,000.

(PA Graphics)
(PA Graphics)

In the week ending September 25, the number of deaths involving coronavirus increased in eight of nine regions in England, and in Wales.

The exception was the East Midlands, where the weekly total fell from 14 to 11.

Just two areas – London and the East – had lower overall deaths than the average over five years for this time of year.

Overall, there were 9,634 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending September 25 – 111 more than the previous week and 2.7% higher than the five-year average.

Deaths in hospitals and care homes were below the five-year average, while deaths in private homes remained above, with 749 more deaths than would typically be expected.

The number of deaths involving Covid-19 increased in hospitals by 63, care homes by seven, hospices by one, private homes by three and other communal establishments by two.

There were 25,183 non-Covid excess deaths in homes in England and Wales registered between March 7 and September 25.

The total number of excess deaths in private homes registered during this period was 27,648, including 2,465 coronavirus deaths.

Any death involving Covid-19 is counted as an excess death, because the virus did not exist before this year.

Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, chairman of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, University of Cambridge, said: “The latest data confirms that Covid deaths in the UK were doubling around every two weeks in September, although still only comprised 2% of deaths in the country.

“Crucially, there is still absolutely no sign of any reduction in the 30% increase in deaths occurring at home – if this is to be a long-term feature of deaths in this country, we need to be confident that appropriate end-of-life care is being made available.”

Across the UK, 10,861 deaths were registered – 179 deaths higher than the five-year average and 77 deaths higher than the previous week.

Of these, 234 mentioned coronavirus, and two weeks prior the number of weekly deaths registered mentioning coronavirus was 110.

Overall, more than 58,000 deaths involving Covid-19 have now been registered in the UK.

The ONS figures show that 52,943 deaths involving Covid-19 had occurred in England and Wales up to September 25, and had been registered by October 3.

Figures published last week by the National Records for Scotland of deaths registered up to September 27, and by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency of deaths registered up to September 30, take the UK total to 58,101 deaths.

These are cases where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, including suspected cases.

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