Financial Times Puts UK’s Coronavirus Deaths At 41000, More Than Double The Official Figure Of 17337

The novel coronavirus outbreak has caused as many as 41,000 deaths in the U.K. so far, an analysis by Financial Times has shown.

The Financial Times estimate was arrived by extrapolating the number of all fatalities in official data recorded recently that have exceeded the usual average. These figures include deaths that occurred outside hospitals.

“The coronavirus pandemic has already caused as many as 41,000 deaths in the UK,” the FT analysis suggested.

As per official hospital death data, 17,337 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus across the United Kingdom as of this Monday (Apr 20).

According to Tuesday’s data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), all deaths in England and Wales in the week ending April 10 were 75% more than normal rates in highest level seen in past 20 years.

The ONS figures revealed that 18,516 deaths were registered in the said period and the last five year’s average figure was 10,520 for the same week of the year. The weekly number is 7,966 more than the five-year average.

While the ONS records mentions of COVID-19 in death certificates, the sheer volume of extra total deaths - including those that do not mention COVID-19 - means that the true toll from the disease is being undercounted, FT analysis concluded.

“A conservative estimate of UK excess deaths by April 21 was 41,102,” the FT said.

According to various media reports, the coronavirus has spread to 70% of care homes where elderly and vulnerable citizens reside; however, an official figure of how many COVID-19-related deaths have been seen in those homes is still not available.

“The ONS data also showed that the vast majority of all excess deaths were people aged over 75 years old. This age bracket accounted for 70 per cent of the total, the same proportion as those with Covid-19 on their death certificates,” the FT said.

The official number of coronavirus deaths in the U.K. stands at 17, 337 as of Tuesday with 823 most recent fatalities.