Coronavirus: Deaths linked to COVID-19 have fallen to six-week low, official figures show

The number of deaths linked to coronavirus in the UK has fallen to its lowest level in six weeks, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

It said 4,210 deaths involving COVID-19 were registered in the seven days to Friday 15 May.

That is the lowest total since week ending 3 April, when 3,801 were registered.

The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the UK has now exceeded 47,000, according to Office for National Statistics figures.

There were 42,173 fatalities in England and Wales up to 15 May (and registered up to 23 May).

Last week, the National Records of Scotland said 3,546 deaths involving COVID-19 had happened north of the border up to 17 May.

Also last week, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency said 664 deaths involving COVID-19 had been registered there up to 20 May.

Those figures together amount to 46,383 fatalities.

In addition, NHS England published figures on Monday showing a further 964 deaths between 16 and 24 May, bringing the total to more than 47,300.

In its latest update, the ONS said the percentage of deaths involving coronavirus "continued to decrease across all English regions".

The highest regional number of COVID-19 deaths in the country - 620 - was in the North West for the second consecutive week.

In Wales, 180 deaths were registered in the week to 15 May, accounting for 23.3% of the total.

Across England and Wales as a whole, the number of fatalities from all causes was 14,573.

That is 3,380 lower than a fortnight before, but 4,385 more than the five-year average.

The greatest number of coronavirus fatalities continues to be in those aged 90 and over.

In the week to 15 May, 37.2% of deaths in care homes in England and Wales involved COVID-19, down from 39.2% two week before.

The Department of Health's figure for the total number of coronavirus-related UK deaths rose by 134 to 37,048 on Tuesday.

Analysis - Ed Conway, economics editor

The news is bad - but not quite as bad as it looks.

In the week ending 15 May there were 4,385 more deaths in England and Wales than would historically happen in that week of the year.

That marked an increase on the previous week and looking at the numbers alone, you might start to worry that the country is facing a second wave of deaths from the disease.

Indeed, look across the whole of the UK and with excess deaths it's a similar picture. But don't despair too much because in large part these deaths are the product of a registration anomaly.

The previous week, week 19, included the VE Day bank holiday, which meant one fewer day to register deaths at offices around the country.

That might seem trivial but such things matter. The likelihood is that the number of excess deaths across the country is still on its way down, but at more gradual a rate than you might have thought, to judge from last week's numbers.

But the overall picture is still of a country where more people are dying of the disease and, perhaps, of other causes, than you would expect at this time of year.

In many other countries which have faced COVID-19 outbreaks - France, Italy, Spain - the number of people dying is now close to seasonal average levels. In the UK, excess deaths remain elevated.

And when you look at where those deaths are happening another thing becomes apparent: the epicentre remains in care homes, where there are more excess deaths taking place than in hospitals or other settings.

In short, the mortality crisis has not gone away yet. Look through the statistical anomalies and it's not clear we are facing a second wave; but the first wave is taking longer to come to an end than many had hoped.