COVID-19: Number of deaths in England and Wales before Easter at lowest level in six months, ONS data shows

The number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the week before the Easter weekend has fallen to the lowest level in six months, new figures show.

In the week ending 2 April, there were 400 registrations where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is the lowest number since the week ending 2 October and down by 44% on the previous week.

Of these, 308 had COVID-19 recorded as the underlying cause of death (77%).

Around one in 20 (4.9%) of all deaths registered in England and Wales over the seven days to 2 April mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate.

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Across the same week, the number of deaths of care home residents registered as involving COVID-19 dropped below 100 for the first time since the week ending 15 October.

There were 86 care home resident deaths involving coronavirus registered in England and Wales in the week to 2 April, down 43% on the previous week.

A total of 42,189 care home residents in England and Wales have now had COVID-19 recorded on their death certificate since the pandemic began.

The ONS figures cover deaths of care home residents in all settings, not just in care homes.

In the week ending 2 April, there were 8,201 deaths registered in England and Wales, the ONS said.

This was 1,844 fewer deaths than the previous week and 19.0% below the five-year average. It is the fourth week in a row the number of COVID-related deaths is below the five-year average.

However, the ONS warned that because Good Friday fell on 2 April this year, the number of deaths registered in the week was affected by the Bank Holiday.

They urged people to treat interpretations from this week's data - including comparisons with the five-year average - with caution.

The ONS estimated that the number of deaths actually occurring - rather than registered - in England and Wales that week was between 8,669 and 11,301.

Deaths involving COVID-19 have fallen by 94.0% since the peak of the second wave of infections, the figures showed.

Some 532 deaths involving coronavirus occurred in the week ending March 26, down from 8,948 deaths in the week ending 22 January.