London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 26, 2025

UK Covid death toll has passed 175,000, says ONS

UK Covid death toll has passed 175,000, says ONS

Figure of 176,035 differs significantly from government’s official count – which exceeded 150,000 at weekend

The UK’s main statistical body has reported more than 175,000 deaths involving Covid since the start of the pandemic.

The ONS has reported 176,035 deaths where Covid was mentioned on the death certificate since March 2020. The figure differs significantly from the government’s official count – which exceeded 150,000 deaths over the weekend – which requires patients to have had a positive test within 28 days before their death.

The ONS figures are considered to be more accurate but because of delays in death registration they are not as up-to-date as the government figures. The 175,000 total was passed on 20 December 2021, but owing to these time lags, the ONS figures have only now been confirmed.

This latest release takes the 2021 death toll to 81,037, down from 94,998 in 2020. However, the figures for more recent dates may still be revised upwards, especially because the number of deaths registered in the last week of the year will have been affected by the Christmas and Boxing Day bank holidays, which means they will not yet have been recorded.


A total of 3,891 people have died of Covid since the first case of the Omicron variant was discovered in the UK on 27 November. The average lag between infection and death is 16-18 days and can be up to eight weeks, according to the ONS, so the Omicron death toll may increase further in coming weeks.

The number of deaths this winter has not yet come near the peak of previous waves despite a huge surge in Omicron cases. On 29 December, 246,000 new cases were confirmed, smashing previous records and taking the seven-day average figure to 192,000.

There were more than 7,000 deaths in November and December last year, compared with about 30,000 in November and December 2020.

Kit Yates, co-director of the Centre for Mathematical Biology at the University of Bath, said: “We can expect both of these [death] figures [from the ONS and the government’s official count] to continue to rise for some time, reflecting the huge rises in infections that we’ve seen and the fact that cases have moved up the age ranges impacting more vulnerable older people.


“Even so, we wouldn’t expect to see deaths get close to the disastrous figures we saw at this time last year and during the first wave, when we saw over 9,000 deaths a week. In large part this is due to the vaccination/booster programme, which has delivered good protection against severe disease and death.

Of the deaths registered in the last week of December in England and Wales, 582 mentioned Covid, or 6.9% of all deaths, a decrease on the previous week when there were 852 deaths, or 6.5% of deaths in the week to Christmas Eve.

Between the beginning of the pandemic and the end of 2021 there has been a crude Covid death rate of 262 deaths per 100,000 people in the UK, rising to 291 per 100,000 population in Wales, home to the highest proportion of people aged 65-plus of the UK’s constituency countries.

The figures come as the government is considering cutting the mandatory isolation period for people infected with Covid-19 from seven to five days after a number of sectors have been affected by staff shortages.

Boris Johnson said: “The thing to do is to look at the science. We are looking at that and we will act according to the science.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
×