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The United Kingdom today announced another 469 coronavirus deaths, bringing Britain’s official death toll to 27,979.
NHS England confirmed another 370 victims of COVID-19 in hospitals, but the number is expected to rise later today when the government reveals deaths in other parts of the community.
The patients who died in hospitals in England were between 38 and 100 years old, and 25 of them had no known underlying health conditions.
Wales and Scotland recorded 44 more deaths each in the past 24 hours, while Northern Ireland announced that 11 other victims had succumbed to the virus.
All countries of origin except England have included deaths in nursing homes in their daily updates.
The Health Department has yet to release the official daily update, which takes into account all deaths outside the hospital. But it does not provide a clear daily breakdown of how many occurred in different settings, such as nursing homes.
It comes after a row of tests exploded today amid claims that the government has manipulated its numbers to meet its target of 100,000 samples a day.
The government’s national testing coordinator this morning insisted that the goal had been met, but it was discovered that the home test kits were counted even if they had not been returned and tested in a laboratory.
Meanwhile, ministers finally gave in to mounting pressure this week to include COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes in daily updates, amid claims that thousands of victims were missed.
Jamie Jenkins, a former analyst with the Office of National Statistics, said deaths in nursing homes could mean the total is closer to 45,000.
The pandemic is killing twice as many Britons in disadvantaged areas as in wealthy regions, a report by the Bureau of National Statistics revealed yesterday.
The cities of London represented the ten most affected local authorities, according to the ONS report.
The number of people in Britain who have died from Covid-19 so far could be as high as 45,000, data expert Jamie Jenkins warned. In the picture: Mr. Jenkins has been producing charts based on ONS data
On another tumultuous day of coronavirus developments:
- Government Test Chief John Newton backed Matt Hancock by claiming that the goal of 100,000 a day was reached, despite including 40,000 coronavirus kits that were released and not processed;
- A former ONS statesman estimates the actual death toll from coronavirus could be almost double the government’s when comparing the number of deaths this year to the five-year average;
- The British have flocked to thousands in the open air to catch up on the sun as shoppers queue for Homebase after the DIY chain reopened 164 stores today and motorists queue for coffee outside of Costa;
- Three major studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine have found that common blood pressure pills do not worsen the coronavirus, after doctors raised the alarm about a possible link last month;
- One of Britain’s richest businessmen worth £ 141 million has launched a legal challenge to the coronavirus blockade in an attempt to end the “draconian” quarantine that is “ruining” the economy;
- A western intelligence record of the bomb has claimed that China lied about person-to-person transmission, the “missing” complainants and refused to help other countries prepare a coronavirus vaccine;
- Hundreds of patients with NHS coronavirus must be treated with the blood plasma of virus survivors as part of the promising therapy trial at St Thomas Hospital;
- The Spaniards have crowded the streets since they were allowed to leave for the first time since March 15, while beauty salons opened in Austria when Europe begins to emerge from the running of the bulls.
Professor John Newton told the BBC Radio 4 Today program: ‘All tests are only counted once, and you can count them when they leave or when they come back, and whatever you do, we still meet the target.’
But experts told MailOnline that the government was being “very cunning” by including tests that had not yet been processed in a laboratory in its daily count.
Britain’s official number of daily deaths has yet to be released and the final number is expected to be much higher due to the new scheme to include deaths in all settings, not just hospitals.
Jenkins says the figure reflects the difference in the number of people who have died since the pandemic began in Britain, compared to the average number of deaths during the same period in the past five years.
The former ONS chief health analyst says figures from the UK’s statistical authority suggest that around 90 percent of these ‘excessive deaths’ could be related to Covid-19.
Using these data, around 42,000 people in England and Wales and 3,000 in Scotland could have died in Covid-19 related forms between the start of the pandemic and April 29, he says.
Members of the public follow social distancing guidelines and queue outside a Homebase store in Leicester today.
Customers abide by social distancing measures at a Homebase store in Walthamstow this afternoon
Customers collect their orders at the Croydon Costa Coffee Drive-Thru reopened in South London
A medical worker picks up a swab at a test station in Chessington, Surrey yesterday
Statistician Jamie Jenkins, a former chief health analyst with the Office for National Statistics (ONS), believes that Covid-19 deaths in Britain could reach 45,000
Jenkins, who has been posting daily chart updates to his Twitter account, said his analysis takes into account other factors, including fewer deaths on the road due to reduced traffic while the country is blocked.
He says the difference in excess death figures and official government Covid-19 death figures could be explained by deaths in nursing homes and the community.
Initially, the government figures were only those who died in the hospital. But on Wednesday, the government added another 4,000 deaths in nursing homes and in the community.
Jenkins said: ‘Previously, the figures included those who died in the hospital who mentioned Covid-19 on their death certificate.
“But if people weren’t getting the test done in nursing homes, for example, and doctors were reluctant at first to mention it if they didn’t know, that won’t be marked in the numbers.”
“Now that the government is testing in nursing homes, the numbers are likely to be more in line with the numbers of excessive deaths.”
Jenkins’ analysis of the figures shows that, on average, there were 12,741 in the first week of the year in the past five years.
But the numbers were lower this year, at around 11,900, which Jenkins said was due to a weaker strain of seasonal flu.
That trend continued until week 12 of the year, the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, when this year’s weekly deaths were above average.
The 2020 figure continued to rise until the past three weeks, where the number of weekly deaths was around 20,000 people, roughly double the five-year average.
Jenkins says the lower than average death rate at the beginning of the year, due to the weaker form of seasonal flu, may have contributed to a higher death rate at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.
He said: ‘We had a very bad flu season in 2015 and 2018 in the UK.
‘In 2020, it appears that, on average, the flu death rate was much lower than the five-year average.
‘There were around 14,000 fewer deaths this year compared to the five-year average before the coronavirus outbreak.
“Many of the 14,000 who survived the weaker flu were likely people who would have been susceptible to Covid-19.”
As previously reported by MailOnline, the government figures initially focused on those who died in the hospital.
On Wednesday, the government added more than 3,800 deaths of those who had died of Covid-19 in nursing homes and the community.
But the numbers disagreed with the ONS figures, which showed that at least 4,996 deaths were recorded in nursing homes in the two weeks to April 24.
It comes among a huge increase in testing across the UK.
Last night, Health Secretary Matt Hancock stated in a Press report that 122,000 tests had been conducted in the 24 hours at 9 am yesterday, a whopping increase of just 10,000 in early April.
Mr. Hancock said last night that the next phase of dealing with Covid-19, which will include more community testing and contact tracing, will allow the government “to reaffirm, as much as possible, the freedom of all of us.”
But it emerged that around 40,000 of those counted tests were sent to homes and hospitals, and were not actually processed.
Government testing coordinator Professor John Newton this morning He told the BBC Radio 4 Today program that the goal had been met “in any way you tell it,” but warned people not to. getting too obsessed with goals.
Earlier this week, Boris Johnson declared that Britain is “beyond the peak” of the coronavirus, but urged the public to “move forward” with the blockade to prevent a new outbreak.
So far there have been over 177,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the UK, with the largest number of new cases occurring on April 11, when there were 8,719
Meanwhile, the government’s testing coordinator insisted that people should not be “stuck on goals” today, arguing that the goal of 100,000 checks per day had been reached.
Professor John Newton dismissed a dispute over whether the numbers had been cooked, emphasizing that the big picture was that capacity had increased dramatically and that there would always be disputes when “politicians set goals.”
The Health Secretary stated at the Downing Street news conference last night that 122,000 tests had been performed in the 24 hours at 9 am yesterday, a huge increase of just 10,000 in early April.
But it emerged that around 40,000 of the few had been sent to homes and hospitals, and were not actually processed.
Boris Johnson and other ministers had previously claimed that government figures covered the number of tests “performed” per day.
The dispute came as top Tories officials urge the government to draw a line of discussion about the target and are focused on implementing a South Korean-style contact tracking system.
Professor Newton told the BBC Radio 4 Today program that the goal had been met “in any way you count it,” although he did not give figures on how many tests had been completed in the 24 hours.
Professor Newton said: “We don’t want to become too obsessed with goals … what matters is that we have substantial capacity.”
He said: ‘It is a great number as you count it. All tests are only counted once, and you can count them when they go out or when they come back in. Either way, we will still beat the target.
Professor Newton also delivered what appeared to be an excavation to Mr. Hancock, saying that people should not be “hung” on targets.
‘These are the kinds of discussions that get when politicians set goals. What we are focusing on is offering what people need, ” he said.
NHS chief supplier Chris Hopson told Sky News that there had been too much “simple focus on a number for April 30” in the government, saying “the point is missed.”
“What you really need to be sure of is whether everyone who needs an exam can really get one.” he said.
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said last night: “ The job has repeatedly called for more tests, and increasing the tests is an important milestone.
“But many would have expected the 100,000 promise to be fulfilled by actually testing, not simply because 39,000 kits had been shipped.”
‘The holder’s figure should not count evidence that has not been used, or that in fact could never be used as a complete test. ‘
