https://arab.news/v3ys3
- Only the US, with a population nearly five times greater, has suffered more confirmed fatalities from the virus than Britain
- Weekly figures raised up to April 24 showed 32,313 people had died from COVID-19
LONDON: The United Kingdom has overtaken Italy to report the highest official death toll from the new coronavirus in Europe, figures released on Tuesday showed, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson over his response to the crisis.
Weekly figures from Britain鈥檚 Office for National Statistics (ONS) added more than 7,000 deaths in England and Wales in the week to April 24, raising the total for the United Kingdom to 32,313.
Only the United States, with a population nearly five times greater, has suffered more confirmed fatalities from the virus than Britain, according to the data so far.
Tuesday鈥檚 figures are based on death certificate mentions of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, including suspected cases.
While different ways of counting make comparisons with other countries difficult, the figure confirmed Britain was among those hit worst by a pandemic that has killed more than 250,000 worldwide.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檒l get a real verdict on how countries have done until the pandemic is over, and particularly until we鈥檝e got international comprehensive data on all-cause mortality,鈥� Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told reporters.
Opposition politicians said the figures proved the government had been too slow to provide enough protective equipment to hospitals and introduce mass testing.
鈥淚鈥檇 be amazed if, when we look back, we don鈥檛 think: yep we could have done something differently there,鈥� the government鈥檚 chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, said in response to lawmakers鈥� questions on testing.
Responding to the ONS figures, a Downing Street spokesman pointed to Johnson鈥檚 recent comments that Britain had passed the peak of the disease but remained in a 鈥渄angerous phase.鈥�
He also cited the advice of England鈥檚 chief medical officer, Chris Whitty: 鈥淒ifferent countries are recording different things in relation to deaths.鈥�
Italy and Spain, the next worst-hit European countries, have smaller populations than Britain, further complicating comparisons.
鈥淧utting a graph out with the United States at the top and UK second is not helpful, but once you start to break it down by looking at the population we should be seriously asking questions about what鈥檚 different,鈥� said Carl Heneghan, professor of evidence-based medicine at Oxford University.
鈥淲hy are six countries disproportionately affected?鈥� Heneghan added, referring to a list dominated by Europe.
The daily cumulative death toll published by Britain鈥檚 government, which unlike the ONS figures records deaths only for confirmed coronavirus cases, rose on Tuesday to 29,427 鈥� exceeding Italy鈥檚 own daily toll for the first time.
Ministers dislike comparisons of the headline death toll, saying that excess mortality 鈥� the number of deaths from all causes that exceed the average for the time of year 鈥� is more meaningful because it is internationally comparable.
But early evidence for excess mortality suggests Britain will be one of the hardest-hit on this measure, too.
ONS statistician Nick Stripe said excess deaths for the United Kingdom were running about 42,000 higher than average at this point in the year.
However, only about 80% of these excess deaths have been linked specifically with COVID-19.
The weekly ONS data also showed the peak in COVID-19 deaths has likely passed, although the week to April 24 was still the second-deadliest since comparable records began in 1993.
The overall decline also masked a worsening picture in care homes.
The ONS said 7,911 deaths from all causes were registered in care homes in the week ending April 24, three times higher than a month previously.
鈥淭hese figures show that talk of being 鈥榩ast the peak鈥� of this awful virus simply does not hold true for social care,鈥� said Labour opposition lawmaker Liz Kendall.