COVID-19 already killed over 41,000 in UK: FT

LONDON

The coronavirus outbreak might have killed more than 41,000 people in the U.K. so far, according to a calculation by the Financial Times.

The estimate based on the latest figures of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is “more than double the official figure of 17,337”, which only consists of deaths in hospitals.

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

According to Tuesday’s data by the 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 showed 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.

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

Local media reports suggested that 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.