Yahoo News Coronavirus: Highest number of deaths in a single week since 1993, ONS figures show
New data has revealed that 35% more people died from coronavirus than the government reported in its daily figures in the week ending 17 April.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) said there were 22,351 total deaths in England and Wales in the week ending 17 April, almost double the five-year average. Care home deaths also tripled, the figures reveal.
The ONS said 21,284 deaths involving COVID-19 took place up to 20 April, significantly higher than the 13,917 deaths that took place in hospitals – the figure the Department of Health provides every day.
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The new data means England and Wales experienced its highest number of deaths in a single week since 1993.
The latest figures show there were 4,316 deaths involving COVID-19 in England and Wales registered up to April 17 that occurred outside hospitals. Of these:
3,096 took place in care homes
883 in private homes
190 in hospices
61 in other communal establishments
86 elsewhere
The ONS statistics also show that of the 22,351 deaths registered in the week up to 17 April, 39.2%, or 8,758, mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate.
That is an increase from the week before, in which 33.6%, or 6,213 deaths, mentioned COVID-19.
Speaking on BBC News, Nick Stripe, the head of health analysis and life events division at the ONS, said: “We’ve got the statistics based on death registrations by week going back readily to 1993 – this is the highest number of death registered in a week since 1993, nearly 2,000 higher than the previous highest which was in January 2000.”
The Department of Health has provided daily updates on the number of deaths related to COVID-19.
That figure stood at 21,092 for the whole of the UK on Monday, but it was known that deaths in the community and care homes had not been part of statistics.
The ONS tweeted: “There is a difference in the numbers because we include all deaths where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, even if only suspected, and we include deaths that happened in hospital and the community.”
There were also 157,149 confirmed cases reported by the Department of Health on Monday.
