Coronavirus: UK excess deaths down to lowest level since beginning of pandemic

Let's begin with the good news: the number of excess deaths in the UK is now down to the lowest level since the beginning of the epidemic.

Across the UK, 1,798 more people died in the week to 29 May than historically have done at this point in the year. That is the lowest total since late March, when UK deaths from the virus were beginning to mount.

The other good news is that fewer people are dying in hospitals than is normal at this time of year.

Moreover, the government's measurement of how many of these deaths are COVID-19 is clearly improving: it recorded just over 2,000 deaths from the virus across the UK in the latest week - accounting for all the excess deaths.

However, the bad news is that the total death toll is still mounting.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been nearly 64,000 excess deaths - just over 63,700 by my calculations. Of those, just under 50,200 have been put down to COVID-19.

Only in time will we be able to judge definitively whether the UK has faced the biggest rise in excess deaths of any major economy.

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However, while many other countries are now seeing the number dying dropping below the seasonal average, the UK's death toll is still mounting each week.

It is possible the toll drops back to "normal" levels next week but by the same token, it is falling more slowly than many had hoped.