Covid-19 deaths in England and Wales lowest since mid-September

Deaths involving Covid-19 in England and Wales have fallen to their lowest level since mid-September, new figures show.

A total of 205 deaths registered in the week ending April 30 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – the lowest number since the week ending September 18.

The figure is also down 21% on the previous week.

The total number of deaths registered in England and Wales was below the five-year average for the eighth consecutive week, the ONS said.

Some 9,692 deaths were registered in the week to April 30, 7.3% below the average for the corresponding period in 2015-19.

Before the eight most recent weeks, the last time deaths were below average was in the week to September 4 2020.

The latest figures are further evidence of the combined success of lockdown restrictions and the vaccine rollout in driving down the number of Covid-19 infections and deaths.

Fresh analysis published on Monday by Public Health England showed for the first time that people who receive a single dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine have approximately 80% lower risk of death with Covid-19 compared with unvaccinated individuals.

It also suggested protection against death from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine rises from approximately 80% after one dose to 97% after two doses.

A total of 152,704 deaths have now occurred in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, the ONS said.

The highest number of deaths to occur on a single day was 1,477 on January 19.

During the first wave of the virus, the daily death toll peaked at 1,461 deaths on April 8 2020.