Weekly coronavirus deaths pass 2,000 for first time since May

24 November 2020, 11:42

Weekly coronavirus deaths have exceeded 2,000 in England and Wales for the first time since May, according to the Office for national Statistics.

There were 2,466 deaths involving Covid-19 registered in the week ending November 13 in England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics said (ONS).

This is the highest number since the week ending May 22, when 2,589 deaths were registered, and a rise of 529 deaths from the previous week ending November 6.

The Covid-19 deaths made up a fifth of the overall deaths in England and Wales in the week ending November 13.

The overall number of deaths in hospitals, private homes and care homes was above the five-year average - the expected number of deaths for this time of year.

All English regions, and Wales, saw a higher number of deaths than the five-year average.

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North-west England had the largest number of coronavirus deaths, recording 615, according to the ONS.

In Yorkshire and the Humber there were 450 deaths, the highest number since May.

284 deaths were registered in the West Midlands, with 245 registered in the East Midlands.

In Wales, the number of deaths involving Covid-19 increased from 166 deaths in the week up to 6 November to 190 deaths in the week up to 13 November.

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ONS figures also show that more than 71,200 deaths involving Covid-19 have now occurred in the UK, new figures show.

A total of 68,524 deaths have so far been registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, according to the latest reports from the UK's statistics agencies.

This includes 62,162 deaths in England and Wales up to November 13 and registered up to November 21, which were confirmed by the ONS on Tuesday.

Since these statistics were compiled, a further 2,432 deaths are known to have occurred in England, plus 80 in Scotland, 128 in Wales and 91 in Northern Ireland, according to additional data published on the Government's coronavirus dashboard.

Together, these totals mean that so far 71,255 deaths involving Covid-19 have taken place in the UK.

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The number of excess deaths not linked to Covid-19 that have occurred in private homes in England and Wales since the start of the coronavirus pandemic has now passed 30,000, figures show.

There were 30,785 non-Covid excess deaths in homes in England and Wales registered between March 7 and November 13, according to the ONS.

The total number of excess deaths in private homes registered during this period was 33,662.

This includes 2,877 Covid-19 deaths. Any death involving Covid-19 is counted as an excess death because Covid-19 did not exist before this year.