Responding to the weekly mortality stats from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the week ending 15 May 2020, Nuffield Trust Deputy Director of Research Sarah Scobie said:
“We have reached another sad milestone with over 40,000 deaths now registered in connection to Covid-19, and 54,000 extra deaths from all causes between mid-March and mid-May this year. It is so important that we do not lose sight of the scale and devastating impact that the pandemic continues to inflict on people.
“The proportion of Covid-19 deaths within all registrations has fallen – to just over a quarter. We also see the number of deaths in care homes attributed to the virus now coming down slowly. Overall, while welcome progress is being made we will sadly continue to see above the average deaths registered weekly for some time yet.”
Notes to editors
- The Office for National Statistics weekly mortality statistics are available from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/latest
- The Nuffield Trust is an independent health think tank. We aim to improve the quality of health care in the UK by providing evidence-based research and policy analysis and informing and generating debate.
- For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Simon Keen on 07805 217935 or simon.keen@nuffieldtrust.org.uk