Virus death toll now down to 10% of what it was at its peak

THE Covid death toll has fallen to less than a tenth of what it was at the outbreak’s peak, official analysis showed yesterday.

The impact of coronavirus declined so rapidly that by June, deaths from cancers outnumbered those from the virus by almost four to one.

At the height of the pandemic in April the virus killed nearly three times as many people as any other major cause of death. But by midsummer, deaths from cancers, heart disease or dementia were far more common.

Deaths from Covid-19 have become even less frequent since the beginning of July, and in the week that ended on Friday, July 24, there were only 217 registered in which doctors believed the virus played a part.

Evidence of the fading threat comes amid controversy over the reluctance of some workers, chiefly in the public sector, to return to their offices, schools and jobs because of the perceived continuing danger of infection.

There has also been unhappiness over measures taken to prevent a second wave, including local lockdowns such as the closure of businesses in Leicester and the demand that holidaymakers returning from Spain serve two weeks’ quarantine.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of deaths from major causes each month since lockdown was imposed in March.

At the height of the outbreak, in April, 29,064 were registered in England and Wales in which doctors recorded the presence of Covid-19 on death certificates – 36 per cent of all deaths.

Covid-linked deaths outstripped those for other common causes. In April there were 11,150 deaths from the most common cancers, 10,308 linked by doctors to dementia and Alzheimer’s, and 7,297 from major heart diseases.

The figures are based on causes noted by doctors on death certificates, which can refer to more than one condition. In many

Covid cases, those who died were not actually tested for the virus.

By June, however, coronavirus deaths had become a minority in official mortality figures. There were 2,525 in England and Wales for which doctors mentioned the virus on death certificates – fewer than a tenth of April’s numbers.

They made up just 7.1 per cent of all deaths during the month. Those ascribed to other conditions had become far more common. Major cancers killed 8,989, more than three and a half times the number of virus victims.

In June, deaths from dementia and Alzheimer’s (3,716) and major heart complaints (4,722) also outnumbered the virus toll.

Official breakdowns of deaths by cause have yet to be completed for July. But figures this week showed that in the seven days to July 24 there were just 217 deaths in England and Wales linked by doctors to Covid-19, down from 295 in the previous week.

The 217 deaths made up just 2.4 per cent of all deaths in England and Wales during the week.

Since June the number of deaths has fallen below average rates for the time of year, and ONS analysts have said excess death rates may remain low because the virus outbreak led to the demise of many vulnerable older people who might otherwise have been expected to die later this year.

The ONS said: ‘The disease has had a larger impact on those most vulnerable, for example, those who already suffer from a medical condition and those at older ages.’

‘Larger impact on most vulnerable’