One in 20 deaths registered in the most recent week in England and Wales mentioned COVID on the death certificate, the highest proportion in more than four months, new figures show.

A total of 10,187 deaths were registered in the week ending 6 August, of which 527 (5.2%) involved coronavirus.

This is the highest proportion of deaths involving the virus since March, according to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

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The number of COVID-19 related deaths is up 30% week on week and stands at the highest level since the week ending 26 March.

But the number of deaths is still well below the levels seen at the peak of the second wave at the start of the year.

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Some 8,433 deaths involving COVID-19 were registered in England and Wales in the week to January 29.

Despite a sharp rise in cases since May and a smaller rise in hospital admissions, the relatively low number of deaths in the latest wave reflects the success of the vaccine rollout.

Public Health England figures estimate that in England between 81,300 and 87,800 deaths have been prevented because of vaccinations.

Some 31,257 people in the UK had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine on Sunday, taking the total to 47,333,702 (89.5% of the adult population).

And 126,383 had second jabs administered, meaning 40,703,581 are now fully inoculated – 77% of UK adults.

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The latest ONS data also shows that the total number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the week to 6 August was 12.7% above the pre-pandemic five-year average.

It has not been this far above the average since the week to 19 February.

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