Covid-19 deaths rise slightly as bank holiday affects registrations

Weekly registrations of deaths involving Covid-19 in England and Wales have risen slightly, new figures show – but the numbers are likely to have been affected by the late May bank holiday.

A total of 98 deaths registered in the week ending June 4 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is up from 95 in the previous week – a rise of 3%.

However, differences between these two weeks should be interpreted with caution, the ONS said.

Many registry offices will have been closed for the bank holiday on May 31.

This will have affected the total number of deaths registered during the week, meaning the overall trend is uncertain.

The latest figure of 98 deaths is only the second time the weekly total has dipped below 100 since last September, and is one of the lowest since the pandemic began.

Just 13 care home resident deaths involving Covid-19 were registered in the week to June 4, up from 12 in the previous week.

Some 42,511 care home residents have now had coronavirus recorded on their death certificate.

Of all the deaths registered in England and Wales in the week to June 4, around one in 77 (1.3%) mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate.

This is up very slightly from 1.0% in the previous week.

Meanwhile, a total of 153,493 deaths have now occurred in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, the ONS said.

The highest number of deaths to occur on a single day was 1,480 on January 19.

During the first wave of the virus, the daily death toll peaked at 1,461 deaths on April 8 2020.