The UK’s Covid-19 death toll may have been significantly higher than previously thought, with almost 30,000 registered deaths until April 24 (April 26 in Scotland), the latest data released by statistics bodies across the UK reveals.
A total of 29,998 fatalities in the United Kingdom in that period mention Covid-19 on their death certificates.
According to England’s Office of National Statistics, there were 27,356 deaths in England and Wales up to April 24, while Scotland’s National Records reported 2,272 deaths until April 26, and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) reported 370 deaths until April 24.
The numbers released by the statistics bodies are considerably higher than the Covid-19 death toll previously announced by the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) which reported 19,506 deaths until April 24 and 20,732 deaths until April 26.
At that point DHSC data did not include patients who died from Covid-19 in non-hospital settings, such as care homes.
The figures from the ONS and the UK’s other statistics bodies are based on deaths registered in that period and include all cases where “Covid-19” was mentioned on the death certificate, whereas those published by DHSC are based on the deaths of people who have tested positive for Covid-19.
