Coronavirus deaths in Wales ROSE this month for the first time since April
Coronavirus deaths in Wales ROSE this month for the first time since April – but deaths from all causes are below average for a THIRD week in a row, official statistics show
- Weekly Covid-19 deaths in England and Wales are now at their lowest level since March 13, before lockdown
- Number of deaths happening each week continue to fall in all English regions but rose in Wales
- People dying in their own homes remains higher than average but hospitals and care homes are lower
By Sam Blanchard Senior Health Reporter For Mailonline
Published: 05:08 EDT, 14 July 2020 | Updated: 06:17 EDT, 14 July 2020
The number of people dying of coronavirus rose in Wales for the first time since April in the first week of July, official statistics show.
A total of 30 people died with Covid-19 in the week from June 27 to July 3, according to Office for National Statistics data, up from 26 a week earlier.
Deaths continued to fall in all regions of England during that week, suggesting the Covid-19 outbreak may have stopped shrinking in Wales. The country has, however, recorded significantly fewer deaths than all English regions but two.
For England and Wales as a whole, however, the number of people dying of all causes has now been below average for three weeks in a row.
In the most recent week for which data are available, coronavirus-specific deaths hit their lowest level since mid-March, with 381 people dying.
Hospital and care home deaths are lower than would normally be expected at this time of year, but deaths in people’s own homes remain higher – by 755 in the first week of July.
The number of Covid-19 deaths registered each week – by when they were counted rather than when they actually happened – has also fallen to its lowest level for 15 weeks.
According to the data from the ONS, the number of deaths registered in England and Wales involving Covid-19 in the week ending July 3 was 532.
WEEKLY CHANGES IN DEATHS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
Region
North East
North West
Yorkshire
East Mids
West Mids
East of E
London
South East
South West
Wales
W/E June 26
28
110
68
75
68
58
32
78
18
26
W/E July 3
17
73
47
39
39
51
20
56
9
30
% change
-39%
-34%
-31%
-48%
-43%
-12%
-38%
-28%
-50%
+15%
The week ending July 3 is known as week 27 in the report.
The report said: ‘The number of death registrations involving the coronavirus (Covid-19) decreased from 606 in Week 26 to 532 in Week 27, the lowest number of Covid-19 deaths registered since Week 12, week ending March 20, when 103 deaths involved Covid-19.
‘Of all deaths registered in Week 27, 5.8% mentioned Covid-19, down from 6.7% in Week 26.’
The weeks in which deaths occurred rather than when they were registered – which is a more accurate measure of the shape of the outbreak – is the lowest for 16 weeks.
A total 381 deaths actually happened in the week ending July 3, down from 561 the week before, 667 the week before that and 928 a week earlier.
One month ago, in the week to June 5, there were 1,289 deaths recorded.
The statistics confirm that the Covid-19 outbreak in England and Wales is dramatically smaller than it was only five weeks ago.
During that time lockdown rules have been lifted and testing surveys suggest that the speed at which the epidemic is shrinking has plateaued.
Today’s ONS report also confirmed that at least 50,698 people had died of Covid-19 in England and Wales by July 3.
The National Records of Scotland recorded 4,173 deaths by July 5, while the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) added 835.
This means at least 55,706 people in the UK had died of coronavirus 10 days ago.
The Department of Health has so far counted 44,830 of those because it has missed off thousands who were never able to get tested.
Today’s data comes after a release last week confirmed that England’s coronavirus outbreak is still shrinking and the number of new cases each day had more than halved in a week.
An ONS testing scheme estimated that 1,700 people are getting infected with Covid-19 each day outside of hospitals and care homes — down from 3,500 a week earlier.
The estimate — based on eight new cases out of 25,000 people who are swabbed regularly — also claimed there are just 14,000 people who are currently infected.
This is the equivalent of 0.03 per cent of the population of the whole country, or one in every 3,900 people. It is down from 0.04 per cent the week before and 0.09 per cent a week earlier.
Separate figures, from King’s College London, suggest the outbreak in England has stopped shrinking — but its estimate is lower than the ONS’s at around 1,200 new cases per day.
Department of Health chiefs have announced an average of just 624 new positive test results per day for the past week — but up to half of infected patients are thought to never show symptoms.
A report by Public Health England and the University of Cambridge predicted last Monday that the true number of daily cases is more like 5,300 but could even be as high as 7,600.
HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE REALLY DIED OF THE CORONAVIRUS?
Department of Health: 44,830
Department of Health’s latest death count for all settings stands at 44,830.
The daily data does not represent how many Covid-19 patients died within the last 24 hours — it is only how many fatalities have been reported and registered with the authorities.
It also only takes into account patients who tested positive for the virus, as opposed to deaths suspected to be down to the coronavirus. Many people were not tested early on in the outbreak, meaning thousands are suspected to be missing from the total.
National statistical bodies: 55,706
Data compiled by the statistical bodies of each of the home nations show 55,706 people died of either confirmed or suspected Covid-19 across the UK by the end of May.
The Office for National Statistics confirmed that 50,698 people in England and Wales died with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 by July 3.
The number of coronavirus deaths was 835 by the same day in Northern Ireland, according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).
National Records Scotland — which collects statistics north of the border — said 4,173 people had died across the country by July 5.
Their tallies are always 10 days behind the Department of Health (DH) because they wait until as many fatalities as possible for each date have been counted, to avoid having to revise their statistics.
Excess deaths: 64,698
Excess deaths are considered to be an accurate measure of the number of people killed by the pandemic because they include a broader spectrum of victims. As well as including people who may have died with Covid-19 without ever being tested, the data also shows how many more people died because their medical treatment was postponed, for example, or who didn’t or couldn’t get to hospital when they were seriously ill.
Data from England and Wales shows there has been an extra 58,830 deaths between March 27 and July 3, as well as 4,867 in Scotland, and 1,001 in Northern Ireland.
