The UK has the highest coronavirus death rate in Europe, new data has revealed.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed there were 29,648 Covid-19 deaths in England and Wales as of April 24, higher than Italy’s current toll of 29,079.

The ONS said there were 7,713 deaths involving Covid-19 outside hospitals in England and Wales, registered up to April 17.

The equivalent number for hospital deaths over this period is 19,643.

A total of 5,890 people died in care homes, while 301 died in hospices. The ONS said 1,306 died in private homes and a further 216 died in communal establishments and other locations.

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At that stage, the government did not include deaths in care homes and the wider community in the figures released by the Department of Health (DoH). The DoH began including deaths outside of hospitals in its official death toll last Wednesday.

It is important to note that the ONS figures are based on mentions of Covid-19 on death certificates, whether or not the deceased had tested positive for coronavirus.

ONS statistician Nick Stripe told the BBC: ‘Almost four times more deaths than we would expect to see at this time of year were registered.’

Yesterday, during the daily press conference, the UK’s official coronavirus death toll rose to 28,734, after a further 288 people died, the Health Secretary confirmed.

Matt Hancock said 190,584 people have now tested positive for coronavirus. The figures followed a further 229 deaths in hospitals across the UK yesterday, which was the lowest daily increase for five weeks.

Of the hospital deaths, England recorded another 204 deaths, Wales another 14, Scotland another five and Northern Ireland another six.

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