Covid-19 deaths registered in England and Wales continue to rise
A total of 960 deaths registered in the seven days to 8 April mentioned the virus on the death certificate
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Your support makes all the difference.The number of deaths involving coronavirus registered each week in England and Wales is continuing to increase, though it has yet to reach the level seen at the start of this year.
A total of 960 deaths registered in the seven days to April 8 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is up 13 per cent on the previous week and is the third clear week-on-week rise in a row.
The figures confirm deaths are once again on an upwards trend, following several weeks where the numbers appeared to have levelled off.
The increase reflects the impact of the recent surge in infections driven by the Omicron BA.2 variant.
Prevalence of coronavirus remains high across the country, though the latest wave has not seen the levels of serious illness and mortality recorded in earlier stages of the pandemic.
The 960 deaths registered in the week to 8 February is the highest since 1,066 deaths in the week to 11 February.
But both these figures are well below the 8,433 deaths registered at the peak of the second wave of the virus, in the week to January 29 2021.
The relatively low number of deaths during recent months reflects the success of the vaccination programme, in particular the rollout of booster doses at the end of last year.
A fresh campaign is now underway to give a “spring booster” – a fourth dose of the vaccine – to people aged 75 and over, residents of older adult care homes, and those aged 12 and over who are immunosuppressed.
Fourth doses of vaccine can be given to people who are at least six months on from their most recent jab.
Figures published last Friday by the ONS showed 4.4 million people in the UK were likely to have had Covid-19 in the week to April 9, down from 4.9 million the previous week.
Infection levels were estimated to be at a record high in Wales, though in England the numbers fell for the first time in six weeks.
Overall, 192,322 deaths have now occurred in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, the ONS said.
The highest number on a single day was 1,487, on 19 January 2021.
During the first wave of the virus, the daily toll peaked at 1,461 on 8 April 8 2020.
Around nine in 10 deaths with Covid-19 on the death certificate since the start of the pandemic have coronavirus as the primary cause of death, with a minority listing the virus as a contributory factor.