The true extent of the death toll due to the coronavirus or COVID-19 in the England and Wales was 41 percent higher than the daily numbers from the government indicated by April 10, as per the data on Tuesday that includes the deaths in the community.
The Office for National Statistics said it recorded 13,121 deaths by April 10, compared with 9,288 in the government's daily toll for those who died in hospital. COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, was mentioned in a third of all death certificates issued in England and Wales in the week to April 19.
Coronavirus crisis
In London, more than half of the death certificates issued that week mentioned COVID-19. The latest hospital deaths data published on Monday show 16,509 people had died across the United Kingdom.
The coronavirus outbreak has created a massive stir around the world claiming the lives of more than 170,000 people globally and infecting nearly two and a half million people in the world. The deadly virus outbreak has been described as a pandemic by the WHO.
(With agency inputs)
