The true number of deaths linked to coronavirus in the UK is at least 5,000 higher than those reported from hospitals, new figures show.
Latest numbers from the Office for National Statistics show total of 14,192 deaths where Covid-19 was the primary or suspected cause had occurred across the country by April 10.
This is more than 50 per cent higher than the number of deaths announced by the Department of Health on the same day, which was 8,958.
The daily figures announced by the Government are based almost entirely on the deaths of hospital patients who tested positive for Covid-19.
They do not include most of the deaths that are occurring in the wider community, such as care homes.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics and other sources are now providing a more complete picture, using data based on all mentions of Covid-19 on death certificates – including suspected cases – both inside and outside hospitals.
The official death toll from UK hospitals today surpassed 19,500.
There is a lag in compiling the ONS figures due to the time it takes for death registrations to be completed and processed.
There is also a difference in when the figures are reported by various statistical organisations, which means that April 10 is currently the most recent date where comparable data is available for all the nations in the UK.
