More people are dying in England and Wales than at any point since records began

England and Wales has recorded its highest weekly mortality rate since 2005, when records began.

More than one in five deaths recorded in England and Wales are now linked to coronavirus as overall mortality rates reach a record high.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show 16,387 people died from all causes in England and Wales in the week ending April 3. That is about 6,000 more deaths than in an average week and the highest weekly mortality rate since records began in 2005.

Novel coronavirus (Covid-19) was listed on 21% of all death certificates, up from 4.8% the week before.

Deaths in Scotland and Northern Ireland are recorded separately but also show a similar grim trend. The provisional number of deaths registered in Northern Ireland in the week ending 3rd April 2020 was 434; 147 more than the week before and 136 more than the 5-year average of 298.

Here is the story of today’s @ONS mortality statistics in a single chart. The worst week for UK mortality (all causes) since records began.
The blue area shows the minimum and maximum mortality each week since 2010.
The red line shows you this year so far. pic.twitter.com/j71W00tCVy

— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) April 14, 2020

Our data shows that of all deaths in England and Wales that occurred up to 3 April (registered up to 11 April), 6,235 involved COVID-19 compared with the 4,093 deaths reported on 4 April 2020 by @DHSCgovuk https://t.co/DjWb5AxR5o

#COVID19 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/KE45NiBwWp

— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) April 14, 2020

The ONS says since the outbreak started there have been around 2,100 more deaths as a result of the virus than quoted by the Department of Health.

The daily data published by the government only shows deaths in hospitals, but the ONS records deaths in hospitals as well as the community.

For all the latest news and updates on Coronavirus, click here.

For our Coronavirus live blog click here.

In the week ending April 3, a total of 217 people died of COvid-19 in care homes in England and Wales, while 136 died in their own homes, 33 died in hospices and 20 died in other locations.

There were 3,716 coronavirus deaths in hospitals in the same time period, which does not cover last week – the UK’s worst for hospital deaths – when more than 900 people died for two days in a row.

The figures suggest the total number of virus-related deaths is around 15% higher than previously believed.

ONS statistician Nick Stripe said: ‘The latest comparable data for deaths involving COVID-19 with a date of death up to 3 April, show there were 6,235 deaths in England and Wales.

‘When looking at data for England, this is 15% 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.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.