As the number of deaths fall for the third week running, 10,000 more people than average have died at home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The number of people in the UK who have lost their lives to coronavirus has now passed 40,000, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics.
But the true death toll could be much higher, as the number of excess deaths between the first week of March and May 8 has topped 53,000 in the UK.
Tuesday’s ONS figures show that 39,071 deaths involving Covid-19 had occurred in England and Wales up to May 8 and had been registered up to May 16.
When figures from Scotland and Northern Ireland are added, a total of 42,883 deaths have been registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, including suspected cases.
Added to this figure, a further 1,211 hospital patients in England who had tested positive for Covid-19 died between May 9 and May 17, according to figures published on Monday by NHS England, putting the overall death toll for the UK at just over 44,000.
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