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UK coronavirus death toll passes 12,000 after 778 more patients die but true tally could be be 15% higher
CORONAVIRUS deaths in the UK today pushed past the 12,000 barrier - however the grim total could be 15 per cent higher than reported.
The Department of Health today confirmed a total of 12,107 people have died from the bug in hospital - a rise of 778.
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However, new official figures collated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show 21 per cent of all deaths in England and Wales up to April 3 were caused by the killer bug.
In England up to April 3, an astonishing 5,979 mentioned coronavirus on the death certificate, compared with 5,186 deaths in hospitals in the same period.
That means 793 more people in the country have died outside of hospital as a result of Covid-19 - 15 per cent more than the current estimate.
Nick Stripe, head of health analysis and life events at the ONS, said: “When looking at data for England, this is 15 per cent 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.”
The ONS collects figures where Covid-19 or suspected Covid-19 is mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, including in combination with other health conditions.
It comes as:
- New figures reveal UK coronavirus death toll may be 15% higher than reported
- Ministers look at ways to gradually re-open Britain in mid-summer
- Government adviser says sunbathing in parks SHOULD be allowed during lockdown
- Ricky Gervais tells celebs like Sam Smith to stop complaining in their mansions
- Ex-minister says vulnerable care home residents ‘abandoned like lambs to the slaughter’
- UK should prepare ‘for surge in virus deaths to highest level’ this week
The latest figures also do not include Northern Ireland and Scotland so the true number for the UK will be higher.
Positive Covid-19 cases rose to 93,873 from 88,621 yesterday as Britain continues its fourth week of lockdown.
Among the latest deaths is a 65-year-old nurse who contracted the disease while treating patients with just a paper mask, plastic gloves and a pinny.
Gareth Roberts, 65, had come out of retirement and was working extra shifts before he died at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales last weekend.
At least 40 frontline NHS staff have died so far from Covid-19 in the UK.
NHS figures also reveal England's deadliest day was on April 8 when 750 people lost their lives in hospital in 24 hours.
Deaths in London from coronavirus have now passed 3,000 - nearly treble the amount compared to this time last week.
In Scotland today, a further 40 people have died - bringing the total death toll there to 615 - while Wales has suffered a further 19 deaths - with their total now at 403.
And in Northern Ireland, ten more people have died - bringing to total death toll to 134.
There were 12,107 tests carried out as of 9am this morning - less than yesterday's number of 14,506.
If the trend of deaths outside hospital continues, the real UK death toll today could be more than 13,000.
Yesterday, deaths in the UK reached 11,329 after 717 more people died from the killer virus.
But the true total could be higher due to a lag in reporting the figures over the weekend.
Previous weekends have seen official numbers fall, before they start to climb again the following week.
It comes amid a warning from the UK's chief scientific adviser that coronavirus deaths "will increase further" this week.
Sir Patrick Vallance also braced the nation for a “difficult” week of death figures ahead before they expect the fatality rate to begin to slow.
But he said that a plateau in coronavirus deaths is likely to last for two to three weeks before we see a fall.
Coronavirus deaths in care homes have exploded tenfold in a week, with an ex-minister warning vulnerable residents have been "abandoned like lambs to the slaughter".
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Former pensions minister Baroness Altmann, who has long campaigned for dignity for the elderly, also said the crisis showed how some of society's most vulnerable were being unfairly treated.
And more than 300 residents have died of suspected coronavirus at one of the UK's largest care home companies, one of its bosses said today.
Sir David Behan, executive chairman of HC One, says 232 - or around two thirds - of the firm's homes have Covid-19 outbreaks, with 2,447 confirmed or suspected cases.
The warning came as it emerged 13 residents had died in a home in Stanley, Co Durham — and the national care home death toll might already have topped 1,000.
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