Coronavirus: UK deaths and cases on Thursday

Another 13 people have died of Covid-19 in England’s hospitals but no-one else has died of the illness in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, officials revealed today.

Scotland today marked four full weeks without a single death from coronavirus north of the border, according to its official government statistics.

A full round-up of the total number of fatalities — which will include all settings in England and not just hospitals — will be published later by the Department of Health.  

Today’s preliminary update comes amid confusion over how many people have actually died of the coronavirus, with ministers now counting deaths in six different ways.

Officials yesterday revised the overall count following an urgent review, knocking off around 5,000 victims who died at least 28 days after testing positive for the virus. It took the official death toll to 41,329.

But the Department of Health still publishes the original count that includes anyone who has ever tested positive and died, with the overall number of victims under this method standing at around 46,000. 

A third count will be kept by Public Health England, along with records by statistical bodies in each country and also measures of ‘excess’ deaths. Totals now range from 41,000 to almost 66,000.

HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE REALLY DIED FROM COVID-19 IN THE UK? 

Department of Health (no cut-off): 46,706 

Department of Health’s latest death count for all settings stands at 46,706.

The daily data does not represent how many Covid-19 patients died within the last 24 hours — it is only how many fatalities have been reported and registered with the authorities.

It also only takes into account patients who have ever tested positive for the virus, as opposed to deaths suspected to be down to the coronavirus.

The method came under scrutiny because it meant someone who once had Covid-19 and then recovered would be counted, even if they were hit by a bus or were in a car crash months later. 

Department of Health (28-day cut off): 41,329

If someone died 28 days after testing positive for Covid-19, they wouldn’t be classed as a coronavirus death under this measure.  

This means that many victims who recovered and died of unrelated causes are not included.

Public Health England (60-day cut off): 45,038 

This method will count a Covid-19 death as anyone who died with in 60 days of a positive result. It will be published once a week.

It leaves room for those who may have died several weeks after getting infected, considering some patients may be in hospital for a long time before they eventually die of the disease.

However, it also means some people who tested positive for the virus, recovered, and then died a while later of different causes will be picked up.

Public Health England said the 60-day cut off is better than 28 days because some patients suffer long term Covid-19 symptoms after appearing to recover, and cannot be missed out from the tally if they do not die in the immediate month after their diagnosis.  

National statistical bodies: 56,846

Data compiled by the statistical bodies of each of the home nations show 56,846 people died of either confirmed or suspected Covid-19 across the UK by the end of May.

The Office for National Statistics yesterday confirmed that 51,779 people in England and Wales died with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 by July 31.

The number of coronavirus deaths was 854 by the same day in Northern Ireland, according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

National Records Scotland — which collects statistics north of the border — said 4,213 people had died across the country by June 22.

Their tallies are always 10 days behind the Department of Health (DH) because they wait until as many fatalities as possible for each date have been counted, to avoid having to revise their statistics.

Excess deaths: 65,278

The total number of excess deaths is at least 65,000.

Excess deaths are considered to be a more accurate measure of the number of people killed by the pandemic because they include a broader spectrum of victims.

As well as including people who may have died with Covid-19 without ever being tested, the data also shows how many more people died because their medical treatment was postponed, for example, or who didn’t or couldn’t get to hospital when they were seriously ill.

Data from England and Wales shows there has been an extra 59,324 deaths between March 15 and June 12, as well as 4,953 in Scotland between March 2 and June 22 and 1,001 in Northern Ireland between March 28 and June 26.

Today’s NHS data shows 13 more people between the ages of 49 and 90 died between July 18 and August 12.

Five of them died in the North East of England, five in the North West, two in the Midlands and one in London.    

Ministers now count coronavirus deaths in five different ways following an urgent review into how fatalities were calculated.

Health chiefs last night unveiled two new measures of recording Covid-19 victims.

One of the measures only counts a death as being down to coronavirus if they die within four weeks of testing positive for the disease and stands at 41,329. The other has a cut-off of 60 days (45,038).

The methods are in addition to the original government calculation (46,706), which sparked fury after top academics found it meant no-one in England could ever technically recover. Coronavirus patients would be counted as a victim, even if they were hit by a bus months after beating the disease.

National statistical bodies collect the other two tallies, including one that adds up to 56,842 because it tots up all confirmed and suspected deaths in each of the home nations.

The other calculates excess deaths, or how many more people died than expected over a certain time-frame (60,000). They are considered the most accurate way of analysing how many people have really died in an outbreak.

Each tally gives a different perspective as health officials said there is no correct way of counting Covid-19 deaths.

Some experts welcomed the ‘sensible’ switch to the ‘headline’ 28-day count, which brought England in line with the rest of the UK and shaved 5,400 off the government count.

Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, a statistician at Cambridge University, said he felt ‘sorry for everyone’ amid the confusion of the true tally.

The UK Government had recorded 46,706 deaths in during the pandemic up to yesterday, when the results of a inquiry finally came to light.

The initial method, from Public Health England (PHE) counted people as victims if they die of any cause any time after testing positive for Covid-19.

Survivors would never be considered truly recovered from the disease and it would have meant every single person that has ever tested positive (313,798) would have shown up in the death tally eventually.

The flaw, discovered by Dr Yoon Loke, a pharmacologist at the University of East Anglia, and Oxford University’s Professor Carl Heneghan, prompted Health Secretary Matt Hancock to order a review last month.

The academics said the method is likely why the daily fatality tolls have not dropped as quickly in England as elsewhere, because Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — which have been seen zero daily deaths for weeks — use a 28-day cut off.

Officials said it slashed almost 5,400 deaths off the total for England, therefore lowering the UK total to 41,329.

Most of the deaths come off the tallies for June, July and August.

For example, under the old PHE system, 2,086 deaths were reported in England in July by date of death, with the 28 days cut off this number is 574 – nearly a quarter of what was previously reported, Professor Heneghan pointed out.

Although scientists welcomed the new way of counting deaths, the damage caused by the original counting method, used for more than five months, has left a sour taste.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 today, Sir David said: ‘People have been watching this daily figure and haven’t realised how ridiculous it is.

‘This will make a difference but it doesn’t make a difference to the fact we have done very badly and there has been a very large number of deaths.

‘I also would say thought that people are on the whole rather too cautious rather too fearful and the communication hasn’t helped in that, particularly that’s why the current communication of the risks of deaths at the moment is so vital.’

Professor Spiegelhalter noted there were around five ways of counting Covid-19 deaths now, but did not list them himself.

He said: ‘I do feel sorry for everyone… it is very confusing.’

Professor Karol Sikora, a cancer specialist and dean at the University of Buckingham medical school, said the old system had inflated numbers ‘for weeks’.

He wrote on Twitter: ‘These figures have been so influential, I’m angry at the way they’ve been handled.’

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