Weekly Covid deaths fall slightly as bank holiday affects registrations

There were 659 deaths in England and Wales where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate in the week to September 3.
(Ian West/PA)
PA Wire
Jemma Crew14 September 2021

The number of weekly registered deaths involving coronavirus has fallen slightly as the August Bank Holiday affected registrations, figures show.

There were 659 deaths in England and Wales where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate in the week ending September 3 – 7.5% of all registered deaths, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

This is down slightly from 668 the previous week.

Some 89 care home resident deaths involving Covid-19 in England and Wales were registered in the week to September 3, down from 92 the previous week.

The number of registered deaths from all causes was also down – with 8,797 registered during the week to September 3 compared with 10,268 over the previous seven days.

The week-on-week changes will have been affected by the bank holiday on August 30, when register offices were likely to have been closed, the ONS said.

Despite the overall fall, deaths involving coronavirus increased in five out of nine regions in England.

The largest increase was in the East Midlands which registered 18 more deaths.

There are still more people dying than normal for this time of year.

The total number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the week to September 3 was 6.7% above the pre-pandemic five-year average, the ONS said – the equivalent of 556 more deaths.

It is the ninth week in a row when the ONS has reported “excess deaths”.

The number of excess deaths in private homes in England and Wales since the start of the pandemic is 68,850, according to analysis by the PA news agency.

Of this number, just 8,291, or 12%, involved Covid-19.

Overall, 159,333 deaths have occurred in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, the ONS said.

The highest number on a single day was 1,484 on January 19.

In total, 43,036 care home residents in England and Wales have had Covid-19 recorded on their death certificate.

The ONS figures cover deaths of care home residents in all settings, not just in care homes.

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