THE coronavirus death toll in the UK has been revealed to be a third higher than figures reported by the Government in a shocking new twist from the killer pandemic.
The latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows there were 34,978 deaths related to COVID-19 in England and Wales up to May 1.
This compares to 26,251 reported by the Government in the same period – a 33 percent increase.
When adding the death toll figures in England and Wales from the ONS to the previously released data from Scotalnd and Northern Ireland, total fatalities stood at 38,289 as of May 3, according to calculations from Reuters.
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This means the UK’s COVID-19 death toll is by far the worst official toll in Europe to date.
The various ways of counting make comparisons with other countries difficult , but the figure confirmed Britain is among those hit worst by a pandemic that has killed more than 285,000 people worldwide.
The ONS said in England, including deaths that occurred up to May 1 but were registered up to May 9, total fatalities from coronavirus stood at 33,337.
The comparative number of death notifications reported by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on GOV.UK was 25,282.
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Figures from NHS England, which are deaths in hospitals only, showed 21,647 deaths.
In Wales, taking the same time frame into account, there were 1,641 deaths involving COVID-19.
The comparative number of death notifications reported by the DHSC on GOV.UK was 969.
Public Health Wales (PHW) numbers, which come from the same source as the DHSC figures but are continuously updated, showed 998 deaths.
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The ONS recorded 17,953 deaths from all causes during the week ending May 1.
This represented a decrease for the second consecutive week, but was still 8,012 more than the average for this time of year.
The number of deaths from coronavirus in English care homes that were registered up to May 1 stood at 6,997, while in Wales this number was 404.
The ONS explained: “The Care Quality Commission (CQC) provides numbers of deaths involving COVID-19 in care homes in England that were notified between 10 April and 8 May, which showed 8,314 deaths, of which 1,503 occurred in the week up to 8 May.
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“The Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) provides the number of deaths involving COVID-19 in care homes in Wales that occurred between 17 March and 8 May, which showed 350 deaths, of which 55 occurred in the week up to 8 May.”
The ONS also explained that from April 29, there was a change in the reporting of the daily coronavirus deaths data from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Prior to this date, the daily death count for England accounted for deaths that had tested positive for COVID-19 in hospitals only.
But from April 29, this was changed by Public Health England to include all deaths where a positive test for coronavirus had been confirmed, wherever that death might have took place.
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