• Tuesday, April 23, 2024
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UK suffers second-highest death rate from coronavirus

UK Coronavirus

The UK has suffered the second-highest rate of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic after Spain, according to excess mortality figures.

The UK has registered 59,537 more deaths than usual since the week ending March 20, indicating that the virus has directly or indirectly killed 891 people per million.

Until Thursday, the UK had a higher rate of death than in any country for which high-quality data exist.

However, Spain made a revision to its mortality estimates, adding 12,000 to its toll of excess deaths from coronavirus in a one-off adjustment to 43,000.

This increased its death rate to 921 per million.

The absolute number of excess deaths in the UK is the highest in Europe, and second only to the US in global terms, according to data collected by the Financial Times.

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The country fares no better on another measure: the percentage increase in deaths compared with normal levels, where the UK is the worst hit in Europe and behind only Peru internationally.

The data were compiled from national statistical agencies for 19 countries for which sufficient information exists to make robust comparisons.

The figures include all of the European countries hit hard by coronavirus. The periods for comparison are from when death rates in individual countries climbed above five-year averages.

The FT has made these comparisons for the first time because the level of deaths in other hard-hit European countries, such as Italy and Spain, has returned close to the seasonal norm.