UK's Second Wave Covid Deaths Surpass First Wave Total

More people have now died during the second wave of coronavirus in the UK than the first, the latest government figures reveal.

From the beginning of the pandemic up to September 1, when three people died of Covid – the lowest number since the pandemic began – 41,565 people died within 28 days of a positive test.

Since then, at least 43,196 more people have died, Wednesday’s figures show.

Meanwhile, analysis by the PA news agency of separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate – together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days – suggest there have now been 100,000 deaths involving coronavirus in the UK.

Here’s a primer on how to understand the different data sources.

It comes as the NHS medical director for London warned on Tuesday that the capital’s hospitals faced an increasingly dire situation.

Dr Vin Diwakar said London now had almost 8,000 Covid-19 inpatients, compared to 4,000 on December 25.

Scientists advising the government have said that, even with a vaccine, the mortality rate may not begin to decline until late February.

These are the key figures for deaths in the country’s most and least affected places, accurate as of Wednesday morning.

The places where Covid has killed the most people in the UK

1. London 10,122 (112.9 per 100,000 people)
2. Kent 2,581 (163.2)
3. Essex 2,193 (147.3)
4. Lancashire 2,101 (172.2)
5. Birmingham 1,733 (151.8)
6. Staffordshire 1,618 (184)
7. Hertfordshire 1,403 (117.9)
8. Surrey 1,318 (110.2)
9. Hampshire 1,300 (94)
10. Derbyshire 1,156 (144)
11. Lincolnshire 1,129 (148.3)
12. Nottinghamshire 1,107 (133.7)
13. Northamptonshire 984 (130.6)
14. County Durham 968 (182.6)
15. Leeds 958 (120.8)
16. Suffolk 870 (114.3)
17. Leicestershire 857 (121.4)
18. Sheffield 848 (145)
19. Norfolk 831 (91.5)
20. Liverpool 820 (164.6)
21. Bradford 806 (149.3)
22. Glasgow City 797 (125.9)
23. Wigan 794 (241.6)
24. Warwickshire 768 (132.9)
25. Worcestershire 752 (126.2)
26. Manchester 748 (135.3)

The areas of London where Covid has killed the most people

1. Croydon 546 deaths (141.2 per 100,000 people)
2. Havering 580 (223.5)
3. Redbridge 509 (166.8)
4. Barnet 497 (125.5)
5. Brent 492 (149.2)
6. Newham 409 (115.8)
7. Enfield 384 (115)
8. Harrow 383 (152.5)
9. Bromley 381 (114.6)
10. Ealing 379 (110.9)
11. Hillingdon 354 (115.4)
12. Bexley 351 (141.4)
13. Waltham Forest 344 (124.2)
14. Hounslow 328 (120.8)
15. Lewisham 322 (105.3)
16. Lambeth 317 (97.2)
17. Barking and Dagenham 303 (142.3)
18. Wandsworth 281 (85.2)
19. Merton 274 (132.7)
20. Greenwich 272 (94.5)
21. Hackney and City of London 267 (91.8)
22. Sutton 258 (125)
23. Tower Hamlets 252 (77.6)
24. Haringey 249 (92.7)
25. Southwark 207 (64.9)
26. Kingston upon Thames 200 (112.7)
27. Westminster 189 (72.3)
28. Richmond upon Thames 169 (85.3)
29. Camden 169 (62.6)
30. Hammersmith and Fulham 158 (85.3)
31. Islington 169 (69.7)
32. Kensington and Chelsea 129 (82.6)

The places in the UK where Covid has killed the fewest people

1. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 1 death (3.7 per 100,000 people)
2. Orkney Islands 2 (9)
3. Shetland Islands 6 (26.2)
4. Moray 15 (15.7)
5. Rutland 27 (67.6)
6. Highland 33 (14)
7. Clackmannanshire 49 (95.1)
8. Argyll and Bute 54 (62.9)
9. Scottish Borders 66 (57.1)
10. Stirling 67 (71.1)

Elsewhere, Matt Hancock has said the NHS is considering plans to move some patients into hotels to ease pressure on hospitals, as the number of people severely ill with Covid-19 continues to soar.

The health secretary said there are “huge pressures” on the medical services and “we are looking to all different ways that we can relieve” them.

He told Sky News: “We would only ever do that if it was clinically the right thing for somebody. In some cases, people need sit-down care – they don’t actually need to be in hospital bed.

“It isn’t a concrete proposal by any means but it is something that we look at as we look at all contingencies.”