Weekly coronavirus deaths sink to lowest level since March lockdown
Weekly coronavirus deaths fell more than a quarter in the seven days to 24 July, marking the lowest level since before the lockdown, latest figures showed.
England and Wales have now recorded weekly death rates lower than the five-year average for the sixth week in a row, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
There were 8,891 deaths recorded in the week up to 24 July, of which 217 fatalities — or 2.4 per cent of total deaths registered — were Covid-related.
The figure marks a 26.4 per cent fall from the previous week, in which 295 deaths were registered with coronavirus on the death certificate.
It also marked the lowest Covid-19 death toll since the week ending 20 March — before the nationwide lockdown was introduced — in which there were 103 deaths.
The number of deaths in care homes and hospitals also remained below the five-year average, while deaths in private homes ticked above it with 727 more deaths during the week ended 24 July.
It comes as more than 56,600 deaths involving Covid-19 have now been registered in the UK, with more than 306,000 confirmed cases.
The Prime Minister last week said he “will not hesitate to apply the brakes” to lockdown measures if a current spike in infections continues.
Johnson is considering a fresh raft of lockdown measures in England including restricting travel beyond the M25, after the ONS last week reported a “slight increase” in coronavirus infections for the first time since April.
ONS figures showed that there were around 4,200 new infections in the community per day in England between 20 July and 26 July.
Other measures being mooted by the pm include “personalised risk scores” for people aged between 50 and 70, in a move that would add to the 2.2m most vulnerable Brits forced to shield during lockdown.