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The Office for National Statistics (ONS)have released the latest weekly figures for deaths in England and Wales, including deaths involving COVID-19 in all settings.
Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, Chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, University of Cambridge, said:
“Over the nine weeks from 28 March to 29 May, 44,869 deaths were registered in England and Wales with Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate
“This represents 1 in 1,318 of the population. The five-year average number of deaths over this period is 88,204, and so Covid deaths added around 50% to the average ‘normal’ risk.
“1 in 55 (9,682) of over 90s have died with Covid, representing around a 50% increased risk, and this relative increased risk held for all ages above 45.
“There have been 482 Covid deaths registered to those aged between 15 and 45, which is a 20% increase over the 2500 expected over this period.
“There have been 2 Covid deaths registered in over 7 million 5-14 year-olds, although there may be more still being considered by coroners. This represents only a 2% increase over normal risk for this age-group.
“There have been around 15,000 additional excess deaths that have not been labelled as Covid, comprising a mixture of under-diagnosis, particularly in the frail and elderly, and effects of disruption in the health service.
“Conclusion: Covid deaths have represented a temporary 50% increased risk of death in the over 45s, considerably less in younger age groups, and had an extremely small impact on school-children.”
Comparison of weekly death occurrences in England and Wales: up to week ending 29 May 2020 by the Office for National Statistics was published on Tuesday 9 June
All our previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink:
www.sciencemediacentre.org/tag/covid-19
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