UK Covid-19 death toll rises 44,391 after 155 new deaths

The UK coronavirus death toll has increased by 155 in a large rise from yesterday's low of just 16, the latest official figures released today show.

The official death toll across all settings is now at 44,391 in the latest figures from the Department of Health today. This includes hospitals, care homes and the community.

There has been a further 581 new cases of coronavirus reported in the last 24 hours and a total of 286,349 cases of coronavirus in the UK as of today.

Today's figures suggest the number of deaths reported on Tuesdays remains stubbornly high.

Today's reported death toll of 155 is the exact same figure as last Tuesday.  While 171 new fatalities were reported the previous Tuesday, June 23.

Today's death toll is also 21 more than the lowest death toll recorded on a Tuesday, which was on May 26 when 134 people died.

Across the four home nations, England is by far the worst affected for deaths caused by Covid-19, with 39,815 as of today.

Scotland has had 2,488 in the latest figures, Wales 1,534 - a daily increase of three - and Northern Ireland 554.

Earlier today, the figures for deaths in hospital settings only showed a further 40 fatalities, which is the lowest rise on a Tuesday during lockdown.

Yesterday's reported rise of 16 deaths was the second lowest daily death toll in the UK since lockdown began, and just one more than the lowest daily rise of 15, on Monday, June 22.

And yesterday the figure for the number of new cases reported in 24 hours was 352.

Today, England reported 36 new fatalities in hospitals, Wales had three, Scotland recorded one and Northern Ireland had no new deaths.

The daily death tolls for hospital settings on recent Tuesdays were 43 on June 30, 56 on June 23, 93 on June 16, 145 on June 9 and 164 on June 2. The highest total on a Tuesday was 854 on April 7, when the UK was in the peak of its outbreak.

Breakdown

The breakdown by region is as follows: North West (14), London (6), Midland (5), North East and Yorkshire (5), South East (3), East (2) and South West (1).

For the sixth week running, the number of deaths involving Covid-19 was highest in the North West.

Public Health Wales said today a further three people had died after testing positive for Covid-19, taking the total number of deaths to 1,534, while the total cases recorded in Wales increased by seven to 15,900.

A total of 2,489 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by one from 2,488 on Monday, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.

The UK's true death toll is believed to be more than 10,000 higher than reported by the Government, at least 55,398 as of yesterday, based on death certificates mentioning Covid-19 as a cause and the latest available data.

The toll of 55,398 comprises fatalities where Covid-19 was mentioned on death certificates, including suspected cases, and it also includes more recent hospital deaths.

It is well above the government’s official toll which counts only confirmed Covid-19 deaths.

Coronavirus is likely to have brought forward some deaths of older and vulnerable people which could prompt a period of below-average deaths, the Office for National Statistics said.

The elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions have been hardest hit by the pandemic.

The ONS said: "The disease has had a larger impact on those most vulnerable (for example, those who already suffer from a medical condition) and those at older ages.