Weekly coronavirus deaths RISE in England and Wales for the first time in five months as official statistics show 99 people died of the disease in second week of September
- Office for National Statistics showed deaths rose for first time since mid-April
- There was a 27% week-on-week increase in deaths on September 13
- ONS issued caveat that bank holiday may have reduced deaths in the week prior
- But the stats mirror what is showing in official death count – a rising trend
The number of people dying of Covid-19 in England and Wales rose for the first time in five months in September.
Office for National Statistics data published today showed that 99 people were killed by the disease in the week ending September 11, up from 78 a week earlier.
Although still the second lowest number of registered deaths since March, the 27 per cent rise could show a change in the downward trend that lasted for 20 weeks.
The ONS count chimes with official numbers of deaths announced each day by the Department of Health – that daily average began to rise again on September 7 from seven per day to 22 a day yesterday.
All signs point to the virus rebounding in Britain now that lockdown rules have lifted and the Government’s chief scientists warned yesterday that the nation must act.
The UK could see a crisis-level 200 deaths per day in November if action isn’t taken soon to stem the rising tide of cases, chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance warned.
The ONS report did not commit to warning of a rise in Covid-19 deaths as it has with cases, but issued a caveat that the August bank holiday may have meant the previous week’s deaths were unrealistically low.
