UK records highest weekly death toll from all causes SINCE RECORDS BEGAN amid Covid-19 surge

Shocking fresh statistics show the devastating impact Covid-19 is having on the UK, revealing that it has recorded its highest weekly death toll since comparable records began in 1993.

New figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday show that a total of 22,351 people died in the UK on the week ending 17 April 2020. This is the most deaths that occurred in any week since statisticians began compiling the figure 27 years ago. Staggeringly the grim statistic is 11,854 more than the five year average.

The stunning report also revealed that the death toll from Covid-19 in England and Wales was 53 percent higher than the figures announced by the government suggested.

© Office for National Statistics

The ONS said it had recorded 21,284 fatalities that mentioned the coronavirus disease on the death certificate as of April 17. This is significantly higher than the 13,917 that were documented in the daily hospital death stats published by the government. 

The discrepancy in the figures is caused by the fact that the UK only includes people who have tested positive for the virus and die in hospital in its daily fatality updates.

Provisional data on the number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending April 17 suggested that a total of 22,351 people died. That represents a spike of 3,835 on the previous week.

The data indicates that the UK is on course to become one of Europe's worst-hit countries in the coronavirus pandemic. The additional fatalities puts it ahead of France and Spain, as of April 17.

The shocking trebling of deaths in care homes in England and Wales in a matter of weeks contributed massively to the spiralling death toll. The stats office said that 7,316 people had died in care homes overall during the 16th week of 2020, almost treble the number reported in the 13th week.

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