CORONAVIRUS Q&A

Dominic Gilbert, data journalist, answers your questions on the accuracy of Covid-19 data

Gabrielle Teare

Q How do they record the number of deaths?

A The recording method differs between organisations, which is one reason why there is an increase in the death toll when the ONS figures are released.

The Department of Health and Social Care’s daily death toll is based on the number of people in hospitals who have died in the previous 24 hours and tested positive for Covid-19. The ONS data includes people who have died (inside and outside hospital) but have Covid-19 recorded on their death certificate as a factor. Many of the deaths linked to Covid-19 have involved other underlying health conditions, so the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Anonymous

Q What are other countries doing in terms of recording Covid-19 deaths in care homes?

A Many other countries are able to count the number of deaths in care homes linked to Covid-19. For example, in France care home residents account for around 45 per cent of all deaths to date. In the UK, where we are not routinely testing in care homes, or accurately measuring the data, the ONS has estimated that around one in 10 deaths occurred outside hospital, which is very likely an underestimate.

Carpe Jugulum

Q

How can you compare death rates when there are no agreed criteria for determining whether a death is as a result of Covid-19?

A

It is hard to compare countries’ death rates. Different countries are testing people at different rates. Germany has twice as many coronavirus cases as the UK, and yet has a third of the deaths. This means that Germany has a lower case fatality rate than the UK – which, on the face of it, could lead you to say that they’re handling the crisis better than us. But experts say the lower fatality rate is simply a product of more testing catching more cases. Definitions of a “coronavirus death” can also differ. Italy classes everyone who dies while carrying the coronavirus as being a death caused by the virus, potentially inflating the death toll.

Every day, our experts are answering your coronavirus questions at telegraph.co.uk. Email yourstory@telegraph.co.uk