Coronavirus UK: Death toll hits 1,798 as over 22k test positive

A record-breaking 390 coronavirus deaths have been announced in the UK today, taking the total to 1,798 fatalities.

It marks today the darkest day so far for the NHS, which has seen patients dying by the dozen in hospitals in every corner of the country.

One of the victims announced today was just 19 years old and didn’t have any long-term health conditions, making them the UK’s youngest otherwise-healthy fatality. 

England is at the centre of the ongoing crisis with 1,651 people there dying with COVID-19.

Today’s statistics added a further 367 deaths in England and 23 across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 

It comes after government statisticians revealed today that the true death toll may be around 24 per cent higher than figures suggest when they released the first data set to include people who died outside of NHS hospitals. 

Medical staff are pictured wheeling a patient out of an ambulance at St Thomas’ Hospital in London today. The capital city, home to around nine million people, is at the centre of the UK’s crisis

An ambulance is pictured outside the ExCeL conference centre in London, which has been converted into a makeshift hospital for coronavirus patients

An ambulance is pictured outside the ExCeL conference centre in London, which has been converted into a makeshift hospital for coronavirus patients

In its statement published this afternoon, NHS England said: ‘A further 367 people, who tested positive for the Coronavirus (Covid-19) have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in England to 1,651.

‘Patients were aged between 19 and 98 years old and all but 28 patients (aged between 19 and 91 years old) had underlying health conditions.’ 

Increases in positive tests today pushed the number of diagnosed coronavirus patients in Scotland to 1,993, 1,563 in Wales and 586 in Northern Ireland.

An update on the number of positive tests in England is expected from the Department of Health later this afternoon.

Experts believe the true number of people who have been infected with the coronavirus could now be more than two million, but the Government is only testing people ill enough to be admitted to hospital.

Sir Patrick Vallance, chief scientific adviser to the Government, has said there could be around 1,000 cases for every one person who dies.

With a death count of 1,798, this could mean almost 1.8million people have been infected with the virus.  

Sir Patrick, speaking at yesterday’s Government briefing, said the number of people being admitted to hospital with COVID-19 is going up ‘in a constant amount’.

The number of hospital patients has risen to around 9,000 from just 4,300 last Thursday. 

But Sir Patrick assured the public the fact the NHS was seeing an additional 1,000 patients a day with coronavirus-related admissions was ‘not an acceleration’ and that the health service was still coping. 

The new death figures come after a new set of statistics this morning suggests the number of people dying could be 24 per cent higher than the NHS says. 

Patients who had COVID-19 mentioned on their death certificates numbered 210 in England and Wales up to March 20, the Office for National Statistics revealed.

Statistics released this morning revealed basic details about the first 108 people in Britain to have COVID-19 mentioned on their death certificate. Elderly people and men were the worst affected, the data showed

Statistics released this morning revealed basic details about the first 108 people in Britain to have COVID-19 mentioned on their death certificate. Elderly people and men were the worst affected, the data showed

STATISTICS REVEAL DETAILS OF FIRST 108 UK COVID-19 DEATHS 

Three quarters of the UK’s first coronavirus fatalities were over the age of 75, according to official statistics. 

Details of the first 108 people to die from COVID-19 in England and Wales have emerged today in figures revealing deaths outside of NHS hospitals for the first time.

They show that 59 per cent of the victims up to March 20 were male, a total of 64 out of 108, while 44 women died.

Only one person under the age of 44 was counted among the fatalities and 73 per cent (79 people) were over the age of 75.

The numbers, published by the Government’s Office for National Statistics, revealed that the true death toll of the virus may be 24 per cent higher than NHS data shows.

The ONS recorded 210 deaths up to and including March 20 in England and Wales, during which time the Department of Health tallied only 170.

The higher figure includes anyone who had COVID-19 mentioned on their death certificate, whether it was a direct cause of death or not. Some may not have even been tested. 

 

Statistics show the majority of the first coronavirus deaths in England and Wales were among people aged over 85.

There were 45 deaths among over-85s; 34 deaths in the 75-84 age group; 21 deaths between 65 and 74; seven for 45 to 64-year-olds; and one between 15 and 44. There were none among children. 

The single hardest-hit age group was men over 85, among whom there were 27 fatalities. There were 20 among men aged 75-84, and 18 for female over-85s.

This was 24 per cent higher than the 170 deaths recorded by NHS England and Public Health Wales during the same time frame. 

If the ratio has stayed true since that time, the true current number of fatalities could be around 1,739 instead of the official 1,408.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has launched a new data series adding in the numbers of people who have died with or after having COVID-19 in the community, including those who died in care homes or their own houses.

Coronavirus was not necessarily the cause of death for every one of the patients, but was believed to have been a factor. 

The statistics show that only one of the UK’s first 108 coronavirus victims was under the age of 44. 60 per cent of them were men and 93 per cent were aged over 65. 

The data does not include Scotland or Northern Ireland – up to March 20, eight people had died in the those countries (six in Scotland, two in Northern Ireland), suggesting the true figure could have been 10.

Anyone who has the virus – for which at least 22,141 people have tested positive in the UK – mentioned on their death certificate will be included in the weekly statistics.

This adds to the daily updates coming from NHS hospitals around the country where adults of all ages are dying in intensive care units. 

It comes after it was revealed that King’s College Hospital in London has had three times as many deaths as official figures show and there are concerns the true figure is days or even weeks behind because of how long it takes to confirm cases.

In France, senior officials have admitted they expect their national count is wrong because of delays and unreported deaths happening outside of hospitals. 

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