Official data today revealed that 7 percent of Covid-related deaths in England and Wales were reported last week. This is despite flu deaths continuing to increase.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show coronavirus fatalities fell from 1,020 in the week ending November 5 — the highest level since March — to 952 in the week ending November 19.
The ONS stated that Covid was mentioned on approximately one-third (or 7.9%) of deaths recorded during this week.
But the number of people dying where flu was the primary cause is continuing to increase, with 452 fatalities recorded during the week — up 8.4 per cent on the 392 recorded the week before.
Experts warn that there is a double danger for the NHS this year from Covid and flu. Lockdowns have decreased adults’ immunity to the former, which causes almost half the deaths of coronavirus.
Overall, the number of people dying in England and Wales increased 0.4 per cent during the week to 12,103, with 3,146 of those counting as extra of ‘excess’ deaths.
The ONS statistics showed that more than 78,000 extra deaths occurred in private homes across England and Wales, since the pandemic.
The figures come after Department of Health data yesterday revealed Britain’s Covid crisis was falling on all three fronts — cases, deaths and hospitalisations — with
Eight new Omicron cases were discovered in England yesterday. This brings the total number of Omicron infections in the UK to 22. No10 announced a new booster vaccination program that will give triple vaccines to adults until the end of January.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show coronavirus fatalities (blue bars) fell from 1,020 in the week ending November 5 — the highest level since March — to 952 in the week ending November 19
On the other hand, 101 deaths from Covid-related injuries in nursing homes were recorded during the same week.
Since the outbreak, the disease has been recorded on the death certificates of 44,199 residents from care homes in England and Wales. The figures cover deaths of care home residents in all settings, not just in care homes.
The ONS reported that 170 816 deaths occurred in the UK, where Covid was listed on death certificates.
On January 19, 1,484 was the highest single-day number. The daily toll reached 1,461 in the initial wave of virus. It peaked on April 8, 2020.
The figures also revealed that there were 688 deaths of homeless people in England and Wales in 2020. This is a decline of 11.6% from the 2019 figure (778 deaths).
Robert Jenrick, Conservative MP and ex-Housing Secretary, said that he was pleased with the ONS statistics which show that the death rate for those living rough on the streets is at its lowest level in three years.
Every death is a tragedy. Numbers of deaths from drug-related causes show us that rough sleeping can be a serious health problem. This is why the NHS and Government need to urgently deal with it.
“These statistics are a testament to the fact that the government, along with the Everyone in Program I introduced as Secretary of State during the pandemic, have taken steps to save many lives.
“As the world emerges from the pandemic it is important to remember our promise to stop rough sleeping at the end of parliament.
“There are still many things to do. It is morally unacceptable that our society suffers from homelessness. This should be the objective of government to make progress.
England and Wales experienced an increase of deaths in the last year, making their national total nearly 80,000 more than the number recorded since the outbreak.
Since 2005, the number of home deaths in England and Wales have steadily increased. Thousands more chose to die at home than in a hospital. However, the percentage rose by nearly 30 percent in 2020 when compared to last year. This was because Britons were instructed to stay home and protect the NHS, saving lives, during the Covid crisis.
ONS separate data showed that there were 41,000 more home deaths in 2020 for all causes than 2019 and that the peak in May was due to people dying at their homes.
Figures for 2021, which were up to June, showed that there were almost 25,000 more deaths in the home than the average for this time period over the past five years. This casts doubt on lockdown as the only reason.
The Government lowered its message of’stay away’ and told the NHS to keep treating non-Covid cases, even though Britain was still under third lockdown.
Many have questioned the wisdom of locking down people and whether they were doing more harm than good for their health. The lockdowns led to many people not seeking treatment for fear of contracting the virus, disrupted scans for cancer and prevented them from getting medical care.
Experts call for more research into whether people choose to end their lives at home or are being left in pain by the system that is unable to care for them.