Weekly registered coronavirus deaths pass 1,000 for first time in eight months

The number of weekly registered deaths involving coronavirus (Covid-19) in England and Wales has passed a thousand for the first time in eight months, figures show.

Deaths rising

There were 1,020 deaths registered in the week ending 12 November where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Coronavirus accounted for around one in 12 of all deaths registered over the seven-day period. The number is up 3% from the previous week when 995 deaths were registered.

It’s the first time the weekly total has passed a thousand since the week ending 12 March during the 2021 national lockdown.

People aged 80 and over accounted for 44.6% of the deaths registered in the week to 12 November – the lowest proportion for this age group since the week to 27 August, according to analysis by the PA news agency. The figure is down from 46.2% in the previous week and 50.4% two weeks earlier.

The drop might reflect the impact of booster doses of the coronavirus vaccine, which began to be rolled out in late September to all over-50s who were at least six months on from their second dose. People aged 80 and over would have been one of the first groups eligible for a booster, as they would have received their second dose early in the year.

By contrast, 60 to 79-year-olds accounted for 44.3% of deaths registered in the week to 12 November – the highest percentage for this age group since the week to 28 May.

In the latest week, there were 12,050 deaths from all causes registered in England and Wales. This is up 500 from the previous week and 16.6% higher than the average number of deaths for this time measured over five years.

8.5% of all deaths registered in the week ending 12 November mentioned #COVID19 the death certificate in England and Wales (1,020 deaths).

This was an increase in the number of deaths from the previous week (995 deaths, 8.6% of all deaths) https://t.co/dHmt5Rh37m

— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) November 23, 2021

Registered deaths involving coronavirus increased in six of the nine English regions and fell in Wales. Some 101 care home resident deaths involving coronavirus were registered, down from 111 in the previous week. In total, 44,107 care home residents in England and Wales have had coronavirus recorded on their death certificate since the pandemic began.

The ONS figures cover deaths of care home residents in all settings, not just in care homes. A total of 169,767 deaths have occurred in the UK where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate, the ONS said.

The figures also show more than 77,000 extra deaths – or “excess deaths” – have taken place in private homes in England and Wales since the pandemic began. A total of 77,379 excess deaths were registered between 7 March 2020 and 12 November 2021.

Of this number, only 8,998 – 12% – were deaths involving coronavirus.