Yahoo News London sees biggest fall in Covid deaths in the UK as research shows that over half with virus were asymptomatic
A total of 1,265 deaths involving
coronavirus were recorded in London in the week to January 29
(REUTERS)" />
London has recorded the biggest fall in the country in Covid deaths as new research revealed that fewer than half of people diagnosed with the virus had symptoms.
A total of 1,265 deaths involving coronavirus were recorded in London in the week to January 29, the Office for National Statistics said today.
This was 135 fewer deaths than the previous week but still the sixth highest weekly death toll in the capital since the start of the pandemic.
The number of London care home deaths involving covid fell for the first time this year from 133 to 117 but rose nationally by 141 to 2,505, quashing hopes that the vaccine roll-out would start to show a positive effect among the most vulnerable Britons.
Across the UK, 9,010 covid deaths were recorded – 46 fewer than the previous week. The 8,433 covid deaths registered in England and Wales is up 11 on the previous week the second highest weekly number since the pandemic began.
Nearly half 45.7 per cent of all deaths in England and Wales in the latest week mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate - the highest proportion ever recorded.
Separate research by the ONS found that, between October 1 and January 30, there was a big increase in the number of people testing positive despite showing no symptoms.
In England, only 47 per cent diagnosed with covid had symptoms. Previously it was thought that about a third of infected people were asymptomatic.
The findings may indicate the success of the asymptomatic screening programmes, using 30-minute lateral flow tests, to detect positive cases. Cough, fatigue and headache were the most commonly reported symptoms from people who tested positive across the UK.
Professor Rowland Kao, of the University of Edinburgh, said the latest death toll was a legacy of the high number of cases in the middle of January.
He said: “Deaths will decline more slowly than might have been expected prior to the dominance of the ‘Kent’ B.1.1.7 variant, for which the evidence is that it has a higher rate of fatalities for those infected. This, and the still high numbers of deaths means that continued vigilance needs to applied.
“However, especially as the current vaccines appear to have continued protection against severe disease, we can expect the numbers of deaths to continue to decline, so long as other non-pharmaceutical restrictions remains sufficient.”
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