Figures released this morning by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show there were 29,710 deaths involving Covid-19 in England and Wales up to April 24 compared with 22,173 deaths of people in England and Wales testing positive for Covid-19 reported by the Department of Health & Social Care for the same period.
3,507 coronavirus deaths were recorded among those aged 85 years and older. At the same time, no deaths were recorded among the youngest.
The figures released also reveal that the peak for deaths in care homes has still not passed. The number of deaths in care homes in the same week was 7,911, which is 595 higher than the previous week.
In total there were 21,997 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending 24 April. That is 11,539 more than the average for this time of year, but a decrease of 354 on the previous week.
The ONS total is 34% higher than the Department of Health total as the ONS figures include all mentions of Covid-19 on a death certificate, including suspected Covid-19, and are based on the date that deaths occurred.
The Department of Health figures are based on when deaths were reported and are for deaths where a person has been tested positive for Covid-19.
