Third of local areas record ZERO Covid deaths since April – as fatalities fall again
A THIRD of councils across England and Wales haven't recorded any Covid deaths since April.
It comes as weekly fatalities have fallen to the lowest figure since September last year – 84.
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The latest Office for National Statistics revealed the low numbers up to June 11, despite cases having risen in recent weeks.
Around 122 out of 331 English and Wales local authorities recorded no Covid deaths since April.
And only two authorities recorded double figures for fatalities – Bradford, 18, and Bolton, 11, which were Delta variant hotspots.
Most Covid deaths were in people over 75 in the week running up to June 11.
While it's good news that deaths are low, the most recent ONS data does have a two week delay so fatalities may have increased as hospitalisations have risen.
However, the Government keeps a record of daily deaths reported in the UK, and while there has been a rise, it hasn't matched the surge in infections.
For the last week deaths have been under ten each day, after a slight rise.
The rise in cases has been caused by the Delta variant ripping through the country.
But unlike the chaos caused by the Alpha (Kent) variant at Christmas, due to the vaccine rollout, there have been significantly less deaths with this strain.
It comes as eight in ten adults in the UK now have antibodies, with up to 67 per cent of all adults fully jabbed.
Sarah Crofts, Head of Analytical outputs for the Covid-19 Infection survey said: “Across the UK at least 80 per cent of adults now have some level of antibody protection against Covid-19.
“With infection levels now increasing again in England, this protection will hopefully protect the majority against severe symptoms.
“With vaccinations now open to the under 30s we must continue to monitor how antibody levels change over the coming months.”
The variant has taken over as the dominant strain, and makes up 99 per cent of all cases.
Maps from the Wellcome Sanger Institute show the dramatic change in the picture over the past few weeks.
The most recent data – up to June 12 – shows very few spots have below 50 per cent of cases as Delta.
Of all the deaths registered in England and Wales in the week to June 11, around one in 125 (0.8 per cent) mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate.
This is down very slightly from 1.3 per cent in the previous week.
Meanwhile, a total of 153,630 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 1,481 on January 19.
During the first wave of the virus, the daily death toll peaked at 1,461 deaths on April 8 2020.
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