UK announces more coronavirus deaths

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UK announces 229 more coronavirus deaths – taking Britain’s official fatality count to 28,675 as figures show England has recorded the HIGHEST excess death rate in Europe

  • The Department of Health has yet to provide today’s official COVID-19 update 
  • Yesterday’s official count of 315 was the lowest recorded since March 29 (214)
  • Separate data shows England has the highest excess death rate across Europe
  • Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

By Stephen Matthews Health Editor For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

England, Scotland and Northern Ireland today recorded 229 more COVID-19 deaths, taking the UK’s official fatality count to 28,661.

The Department of Health – which announces an official daily snapshot of deaths in all settings – has yet to provide today’s COVID-19 update. 

The preliminary toll is counted by adding up all the numbers provided by the health officials of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

NHS England declared 204 COVID-19 fatalities in hospitals – but some of the deaths may have been included in previous daily totals.

Scotland had five deaths in all settings, while Wales and Northern Ireland recorded another 14 and six victims in hospitals and care homes, respectively.

Yesterday’s official count of 315 new deaths was the lowest recorded in Britain since March 29 (214), before the crisis blew up. 

It comes after it was revealed that England’s excess death rate is one of the worst in Europe, higher than Italy, Spain and France.

Data compiled by officials on the continent shows England’s spike in excess deaths has lasted for longer than any of its coronavirus-ravaged neighbours. 

In other developments to the UK’s coronavirus crisis today:

  • Boris Johnson urged Britons not to ‘ease up’ on lockdown measures too early, saying it could ‘allow a second peak of coronavirus’;
  • Nicola Sturgeon gazumped the Prime Minister again by revealing that there won’t be ‘meaningful’ changes to lockdown this week;
  • Ministers revealed they were trying to get Britain ‘as many masks as possible’ as the Government prepares to change its official advice;
  • Britain’s main commuter roads started to jam up again with London seeing another 2 per cent rise in traffic; 
  • London’s NHS Nightingale hospital will be mothballed to new patients and kept as backup in case of a second wave of COVID-19 in Britain;
  • A contact tracing app to track the spread of coronavirus will be trialled on the Isle of Wight before being rolled out more widely later this month; 
  • Heathrow Airport has warned travellers could face queues more than half a mile long to board flights; 
  • Rail unions said it was ‘premature’ to open up the country’s public transport network when the lockdown eases; 
  • Officials caved in to pressure to name the secretive SAGE panel, naming all but two of the scientists who helped shape the UK’s response.

More than 4,000 care home residents in England and Wales have died during the pandemic up until April 17, official data shows, 19 per cent of the total on that date. This compares to Germany's 2,401. A third of its total deaths have been in care homes, but that includes prisons and other community settings. Adelina Comas-Herrera, an author of the report, said she expects half of the UK's deaths to have taken place in care homes, suggesting the true death toll could be in the region of 50,0000

More than 4,000 care home residents in England and Wales have died during the pandemic up until April 17, official data shows, 19 per cent of the total on that date. This compares to Germany’s 2,401. A third of its total deaths have been in care homes, but that includes prisons and other community settings. Adelina Comas-Herrera, an author of the report, said she expects half of the UK’s deaths to have taken place in care homes, suggesting the true death toll could be in the region of 50,0000

But the final count, which should have been released at 2pm, may be lower because of a change in how deaths are recorded in England.

Ministers finally caved in to mounting pressure to include COVID-19 fatalities in care homes in the daily updates last week. 

It came amid fears thousands of victims were being missed because the daily figures only took into account patients who died in hospitals.

Care home deaths make up almost half of all deaths in some neighbouring European countries, according to estimates.

And official data from Scotland suggests around 40 per cent of all victims die in care homes, suggesting Britain’s true death toll could be in the region of 50,000.

Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all now include care home deaths in their daily COVID-19 situation updates, which they announce individually.

But their tallies do not always line-up with the official count provided by DH because of how they are recorded. 

For instance, Scotland’s death toll stands at 1,576 – but the Department of Health had only registered 1,559 fatalities for the country yesterday.

No overall daily update is given by England, with NHS bosses only offering a count of how many patients have died in hospitals.

But because of DH’s new reporting system, some of the deaths NHS England reports each day have already been included in previous tolls.

Officials do not provide an in-depth breakdown to show how many COVID-19 deaths occurred in hospitals compared to care homes and other settings.