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Undertakers wearing personal protective equipment carry the coffin during a funeral in Brixton. Aaron Chown/PA Images
up to 3 april
New official data says death toll from Covid-19 in England is 15% higher than NHS figures
The Office for National Statistics figures are based on all mentions of Covid-19 on a death certificate, unlike those compiled by the NHS.
AROUND ONE IN 10 coronavirus-related deaths registered up to 3 April in England and Wales took place outside hospitals, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Out of a total of 406 such deaths, 217 were registered in care homes, 33 in hospices, 136 in private homes, three in other communal establishments and 17 elsewhere.
Some 3,716 deaths occurred in hospitals.
The numbers are based on where Covid-19 or suspected Covid-19 is mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, including in combination with other health conditions, the ONS said.
Including deaths that occurred up to April 3 but were registered up to April 11, the number involving Covid-19 was 6,235.
Nick Stripe, head of health analysis and life events at the ONS, said: “The latest comparable data for deaths involving Covid-19 with a date of death up to 3 April show there were 6,235 deaths in England and Wales.
“When looking at data for England, this is 15% higher than the NHS numbers as they include all mentions of Covid-19 on the death certificate, including suspected Covid-19, as well as deaths in the community.
“The 16,387 deaths that were registered in England and Wales during the week ending 3 April is the highest weekly total since we started compiling weekly deaths data in 2005.”
Of the 16,387 deaths, around a fifth (21.2%) mentioned “novel coronavirus”.
The previous week, just 4.8% of all deaths registered had mentioned Covid-19.
In London, almost half (46.6%) of deaths registered in the week ending April 3 involved Covid-19, while the virus accounted for 22.1% of deaths registered in the West Midlands.
The ONS overall total for England – 5,979 deaths involving Covid-19 up to April 3 and registered up to April 11 – is 15% higher than the total reported by NHS England for the same period (5,186 deaths in hospitals).
This is because the ONS figures include all mentions of Covid-19 on a death certificate, including suspected Covid-19, as well as deaths in the community.
The NHS figures only include deaths in hospitals where a patient has been tested for Covid-19.
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