14 April 2020updated 06 Oct 2020 9:45am

One in ten coronavirus deaths occurring outside hospitals, ONS figures suggest

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – FEBRUARY 19: Clinical support technician Douglas Condie extracts viruses from swab samples so that the genetic structure of a virus can be analysed and identified in the coronavirus testing laboratory at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, on February 19, 2020 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Jane Barlow – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest 10 per cent of coronavirus-related deaths in England and Wales are occuring outside of hospitals. Up to the week ending 3 April, 90.2 per cent of coronavirus-linked deaths had occurred in hospitals (3,716 deaths), with the remainder recorded in hospices (33), care homes (217) and private homes (136).

The data shows the total number of deaths in England and Wales linked to Covid-19 had reached 6,235 by 3 April. When looking at England alone, this was “15 per cent higher than the NHS numbers as they include all mentions of Covid-19 on the death certificate, including suspected Covid-19, as well as deaths in the community”, ONS head of health analysis Nick Stripe said.

The news comes after two of the UK’s leading care home companies, HC One and MHA, said 521 residents had died at their care homes in recent weeks. The Care Quality Commission said today that deaths related to coronavirus in care homes would be recorded daily in future, beginning later this week.