Men die of coronavirus at twice women's rate in England and Wales
Men died of coronavirus at twice the rate of women in England and Wales in March, according to ONS statistics.
The data, which gives more indepth information on the age, gender, and pre-existing conditions of those who died both inside and outside hospitals, shows that men had a significantly higher rate of death from Covid-19 than women in all of the older age groups.
One in five Covid-19 deaths occurred in people aged between 80 and 84. A further 18% were aged between 85 and 89, while deaths in the 75-79 and 90 + age categories accounted for 16% of deaths each.
There were no deaths among those aged 14 or under in the period covered by the ONS data.
For the first time in England and Wales, the figures also show that most people who had coronavirus at the time of their death died because of the disease rather than with it being a contributory condition.
Of the 3,912 registered deaths involving coronavirus in March, Covid-19 was found to be the underlying cause of death in 86%.
Covid-19 was the third-highest cause of death, accounting for 7% of all cases. Only dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, which accounted for 14% of all deaths, caused more.
The ONS found that the mortality rate was significantly higherin England, at 69.7 deaths for every 100,000 people, than the rate in Wales, 44.5 deaths for every 100,000 people.
The data also offers a further insight into the proportion of victims with underlying health conditions.
Of the 3,912 people who either died because of coronavirus or who had it at the time they died, 91% had at least one pre-existing condition. On average
those who died had 2.7 existing conditions.
The accompanying ONS analysis states that at the start of March, the number of deaths a day was below the five-year average, “likely because of the mild winter and low levels of circulating flu”.
“However, towards the end of the month, we can see that the number of deaths was above the five-year average.”
The figures cover all deaths that were registered up to 6 April but which occurred in March. However, it is expected that the number of deaths for the month will increase as more are registered.