Weekly Covid deaths at highest since March
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Your support makes all the difference.The number of deaths involving Covid-19 have increased eight per cent in a week and are now at their highest levels since March, the latest data shows.
According to the Office for National Statistics a total of 571 deaths were registered in England and Wales in the week to 13 August where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
It is the highest total since 719 deaths in the week to March 26.
The ONS said around one in 18 deaths registered that week mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate.
The latest weekly figures also revealed 57 care home residents across England and Wales had died in the week to 13 August, up from 50 the previous week.
In total, 42,805 care home residents in England and Wales have had Covid-19 recorded on their death certificate since the pandemic began.
Ministers have brought in new laws requiring staff working in care homes and social care settings to be double vaccinated against Covid-19 to protect care home residents from the virus.
NHS England warned on Monday that NHS staff who were not double jabbed would be barred from being sent into care homes after the new rules come into force from 11 November.
Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 156,958 deaths have occurred in the UK where Coviud-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
The highest number of deaths on a single day was 1,484 on 19 January whereas the peak during the first wave occurred on 8 April, with 1,461 deaths being registered.
Overall the ONS said there were 11,793 deaths across the UK in the latest week, 1,423 more than the five-year average. Of those additional deaths 652 involved Covid-19 suggesting more people that usual are dying of other non-Covid causes.
On Monday, the latest coronavirus data showed the number of infections, deaths and hospitalisations have continued to rise across the UK.
In England, the number of coronavirus patients in hospital has now reached 6,000, the highest number since mid-March. There were 845 patients in an intensive care bed on Monday - the equivalent of more than 20 per cent of all England’s ICU beds.
This will mean increased pressure on hospitals trying to recover routine surgery and tackle waiting list backlogs. Fewer available ICU beds will mean more operations being delayed.
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