The number of people dying of Covid-19 in England and Wales has risen for the fifth week in a row to 438 between October 3 and 9.
Deaths from the disease have now been rising continuously since September 11, when the trend turned after 19 straight weeks of decline in the wake of March’s lockdown.
Office for National Statistics data show the most recent week’s figure marks a 36 per cent increase on the 321 who died in the week up to October 2, and is more than double the 215 the week before that.
Coronavirus now accounts for 4.4 per cent of all deaths in the two nations – one in every 23.
But while deaths from all causes were above average in the North of England and the Midlands, they were below the forecast levels for London, the South East, the South West and the East of England.
Although the number of deaths rising is a concern, the current numbers still don’t compare to those in the peak of the first wave, when more than 1,000 people died each day. In the worst week on record, between April 11 and 17, the deaths of a staggering 8,758 coronavirus patients were recorded. The most recent week is just five per cent of that number.
Today’s report shows that people in the North West are dying in the greatest numbers, which mirrors the daily infection, hospital admissions and death statistics from the Department of Health.
Much of the region is now locked down under the tightest Tier Three rules which ban socialising, travel and social drinking, with Liverpool and Merseyside already abiding by the tightest rules and the Government hours away from forcing the Greater Manchester area to follow suit.
The North West had 153 deaths involving Covid-19 registered in the week ending October 9, which was the highest number for the region since the week ending June 12. For comparison, the figure was just 106 for the previous seven-day spell.
In North-East England, where deaths were also the highest since June and where tougher lockdown rules are also in place, 60 Covid-19 deaths were registered in the week to October 9 — up from 40 the week before.
Registered deaths involving Covid-19 increased week-on-week in all but two regions of England in the week to October 9 – the exceptions were the East and South East.
In Wales the weekly total increased from 25 to 37.
Three people under the age of 40 died with Covid-19 in the most recent week, as the elderly continued to make up the vast majority of victims. Over-70s accounted for 358 out of the total 438 (82 per cent).
Deaths from all causes were more than 10 per cent above average for this time of year in Yorkshire and the Humber, the biggest spike recorded in England, with 1,067 registered compared to an expected level of 967.
In the North West – which has been hit hard by the virus – they were 2.9 per cent above average at 1,367 compared to the expected 1,328. And in the North East they were 6.7 per cent above average at 544, when figures from the last five years suggested 510 were expected.
But in London the number of deaths from all causes remained 1.3 per cent below the average, at 902 when 912 were forecast.
In the South West – which has so far dodged the second wave of the virus – they were 4.2 per cent below average, at 1,010, compared to average 1,054. And in the East of England they were 5.7 per cent below average, the biggest plummet registered in the UK nation, at 1,019, compared to an average of 1,081.
As Covid-19 fatalities make a resurgence the number of people dying of any cause has risen above average again.
After spiking to levels higher than 11,000 more deaths than usual for the time of year in April, the total numbers of people dying each week then fell below average over the summer.
Fewer people than usual have been dying of non-Covid illnesses in hospitals and care homes, and this continues to be the case even as coronavirus deaths rise.
Experts say this may be because hospitals did not admit as many people as they normally would because they were saving space for Covid-19 patients during the spring.
As a result, more people than average are dying in private homes. A separate report from the ONS yesterday found that there have been more than 26,000 at-home deaths above normal levels this year.
Between March 20, the week lockdown started, and September 11, a total of 85,400 people died in private homes rather than in hospitals or care homes, the report showed yesterday. This is the equivalent of around 100 extra deaths each day.
The number, which is a surge of 43.8 per cent on the average for that time of year, includes fatalities of any cause, with Covid-19 only mentioned on 2.9 per cent of all the death certificates. Six out of 10 of those who died at home were aged over 70.
ANDY BURNHAM ADMITS HE WILL HAVE TO ACCEPT NO10’S CURBS
The daily number of coronavirus cases, counted by the date specimens were taken, has eased in key cities over recent days
Andy Burnham today conceded he will have to fall into line if the government imposes Tier Three lockdown on Greater Manchester – as the minutes tick down to a ‘high noon’ deadline.
Regional mayor Andy Burnham railed at the ‘provocative’ ultimatum from the government this morning after a week of bitter wrangling over a compensation package.
But he admitted he will have to obey the law if Boris Johnson forces the issue, saying he would put one final number to the ‘penny pinching’ government – which is already thought to be offering the area up to £100million.
In a grim warning, he said: ‘I would predict everybody will end up in Tier 3 at some point during the winter – what we need is a fair financial framework for Tier 3.’
Mr Burnham also swiped at ‘selective’ figures highlighted by Downing Street that suggested Greater Manchester hospitals could be overwhelmed within weeks unless tougher action is taken. He insisted intensive care bed occupancy was about normal for this time of year, at 80 per cent.
The high-stakes brinkmanship came as a swathe of the country faces being escalated into the highest lockdown bracket, which means shutting pubs and restaurants as well as a ban on households mixing indoors. Mr Johnson gathered his Cabinet this morning for talks on the raging crisis.
However, fresh questions have been raised over the need for the drastic step, as official data show Nottingham, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester are among the cities where cases have started to plateau after a surge at the end of September, when thousands of students and staff poured back into universities. Infection rates in all four cities have been easing for several days.
Deaths in private homes were nearly double the five-year average for between April 3 and May 7, when Britain was overwhelmed by the virus and have remained ‘well above average’ since March.
Yet in hospitals and care homes the number of deaths slipped below average in June, once the first wave of Covid-19 had blown over. It has now risen slightly back up in care homes, but remains low in hospitals.
‘Usually around 300 people die each day in their homes in England and Wales,’ said Cambridge University statistician Professor David Spiegelhalter.
‘The latest ONS analysis confirms that even after the peak of the epidemic this has stayed at around 400 a day and shows no sign of declining – that’s one-third extra, very few of which are from Covid.
‘Non-Covid deaths in hospital have correspondingly declined, suggesting most of these deaths would normally have occurred in hospital, and people have either been reluctant to go, discouraged from attending, or the services have been disrupted.
‘It is unclear how many of these lives could have been extended had they gone to hospital, for example among the 450 extra deaths from cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats).
‘Crucially, the ONS data cannot tell us about the quality of these deaths, particularly in terms of the end-of-life care provided to the patients and the support for their families.’
The figures come as Andy Burnham today conceded he will have to fall into line if the government imposes Tier Three lockdown on Greater Manchester – as the minutes tick down to a ‘high noon’ deadline.
Regional mayor Andy Burnham railed at the ‘provocative’ ultimatum from the government this morning after a week of bitter wrangling over a compensation package.
But he admitted he will have to obey the law if Boris Johnson forces the issue, saying he would put one final number to the ‘penny pinching’ government – which is already thought to be offering the area up to £100million.
In a grim warning, he said: ‘I would predict everybody will end up in Tier 3 at some point during the winter – what we need is a fair financial framework for Tier 3.’
Mr Burnham also swiped at ‘selective’ figures highlighted by Downing Street that suggested Greater Manchester hospitals could be overwhelmed within weeks unless tougher action is taken.
He insisted intensive care bed occupancy was about normal for this time of year, at 80 per cent.
The high-stakes brinkmanship came as a swathe of the country faces being escalated into the highest lockdown bracket, which means shutting pubs and restaurants as well as a ban on households mixing indoors. Mr Johnson gathered his Cabinet this morning for talks on the raging crisis.
However, fresh questions have been raised over the need for the drastic step, as official data show Nottingham, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester are among the cities where cases have started to plateau after a surge at the end of September, when thousands of students and staff poured back into universities.
Infection rates in all four cities have been easing for several days.
