Weekly Covid deaths in England and Wales fall to lowest levels in six months

Weekly Covid deaths in England and Wales fall to lowest levels in six months with one in 20 fatalities now down to the virus – but officials warn the Easter break has affected the numbers

Office for National Statistics data showed 400 Covid deaths were registered in seven days to April 2
Fatalities from the virus have not dipped to these levels since early October, official figures revealed
Statisticians warned, however, that the drop may be partially explained by the Easter bank holiday period
But this only affected one day of reporting with deaths below average for the fourth week in a row

By Luke Andrews Health Reporter For Mailonline

Published: 07:45 EDT, 13 April 2021 | Updated: 07:45 EDT, 13 April 2021

Coronavirus deaths in England and Wales have plunged to their lowest level in six months, official figures revealed today amid tumbling infections and a successful vaccine roll-out.

Office for National Statistics data showed 400 death certificates that mentioned Covid were registered during the week ending April 2, the latest available.

This was the equivalent of the virus making up around one in twenty of all deaths and marked a 44 per cent drop on the week before. It was the lowest weekly toll since early October, when the second wave started to spiral out of control.

Statisticians admitted the rapid decrease in death registrations was likely down to the seven-day period finishing on Good Friday.

Experts warned the count was likely an ‘under-estimate’ because figures are never as reliable over bank holidays and that there is always normally a ‘bounce’ the following week.

But academics tracking the size of the outbreak insisted the numbers were still a good sign and suggested Covid deaths were heading in the right direction.

ONS experts cautioned against comparing the number of deaths recorded with previous weeks in March because Good Friday does not always occur on the same day.

Office for National Statistics figures showed 400 deaths were linked to Covid in the week to April 2, the most recent. For comparison, this is the lowest level of Covid deaths since October 2

But experts said the drop could be partially explained by the Good Friday bank holiday, when fewer people were available to process paperwork meaning some deaths went unreported. They warned the figures needed to be taken with a pinch of salt

Deaths linked to the virus in care home residents dropped below 100 for the first time since October in the most recent week

And deaths were also below the average expected at this time of year (dotted line) in every region in England

NHS COVID VACCINE BOOKING SITE CRASHES

The NHS website for booking Covid vaccination appointments crashed this morning, just moments after the roll-out in England was opened up to over-45s.

Health chiefs today opened up the national booking system for the next phase of the inoculation drive, after No10 hit its April 15 goal of offering everyone in the top nine priority groups their first dose three days ahead of schedule.

But the website ran into ‘technical difficulties’ after over-45s flocked online to book an appointment.

Users trying to get a jab were told: ‘The NHS site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. We are working to resolve these issues. Thank you for your patience.’ Others reported being placed in a queue with a holding screen which read: ‘You are in a queue. Lots of people [are] trying to book an appointment.’

Shortly after the site crashed, No10’s vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted that the problem was ‘fixed’.

Moderna’s vaccine is also being dished out in England from today. But only 20 sites will get supplies of the US company’s jab this week, as supply trickles in at around 150,000 a week.

Professor Paul Hunter, a virologist at the University of East Anglia, warned it was ‘difficult to interpret’ this week’s death statistics because of the bank holiday which likely made them an ‘under-estimate.

‘So it probably looks better than reality because of one day’s data being missing till the following week,’ he said.

Professor Kevin McConway, a statistician at the Open University, claimed the data would have to be taken with a pinch of salt because of the bank holiday break.

‘ONS are very clear about this issue in their bulletin, but it does mean that short-term trends, such as changes between the most recent week and the week before, can be misleading,’ he said.

He added it was hard to draw comparisons between this week and those over the same period for the previous five years because only one other included a bank holiday.

But he said the figures overall showed ‘good news’ and that deaths linked to the virus were still falling.

There were also 1,121 deaths involving flu and pneumonia, of which 237 had this listed as an underlying cause. But for Covid 308 fatalities had the virus recorded as an underlying cause.

ONS statisticians leaf through every death certificate registered in the UK to identify all those mentioning the virus. For this reason, its death tolls lag behind by about two weeks.

They also count all fatalities by the date of occurrence, painting a much clearer picture on the overall trend. But it can take weeks to process a death.

The ONS says the death toll exceeded the 150,000 mark in March.

The Department of Health, on the other hand, publishes daily Covid death tolls based on the number of people who died within 28 days of testing positive. It says the official death toll is currently 127,100.

Care home deaths linked to the virus also fell below 100 for the first time since October 15, in another sign the virus is ebbing away across the country.

Experts had predicted deaths would dip below expected levels around Easter because many people have died earlier than they otherwise would have due to the virus and disruptions to healthcare.