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 Figures published by the Office for National Statistics for England
and Wales brought the United Kingdom's official death toll to 38,289
as of May 3 -- up nearly 6,000 in the space of a week, according to
a Reuters tally of death registrations data that also includes
Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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 285,000 worldwide.
The data came a day after Johnson set out a gradual plan to get
Britain back to work, including advice on wearing home-made face
coverings -- though his attempt to lift the coronavirus lockdown
prompted confusion.
Such a high UK death toll increases the pressure on Johnson:
opposition parties say he was too slow to impose a lockdown, too
slow to introduce mass testing and too slow to get enough protective
equipment to hospitals.
The data painted a grim picture in care homes, which have been
especially hard hit by the virus.
"Care homes (are) showing the slowest decline, sadly," ONS
statistician Nick Stripe told BBC TV.
"For the first time that I can remember, there were more deaths in
total in care homes than there were in hospitals in that week."
Care homes now account for a third of all COVID-19 deaths in England
and Wales.
A Reuters Special Report published last week showed care homes bore
the brunt of policy designed to shield its hospitals from COVID-19,
leaving many of the weakest exposed.
Unlike the daily death toll announced by the government, Tuesday's
figures include suspected deaths from COVID-19, the respiratory
disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
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In March, Britain's chief scientific adviser said keeping deaths
below 20,000 would be a "good outcome". In April, Reuters reported
that the government's worst case scenario was a death toll of
50,000.
SICK MAN OF EUROPE?
Even after adjusting for population, Britain still ranks among the
countries worst affected by the pandemic, a list that includes
Belgium, Spain and Italy.
In Italy, the next worst-hit country in Europe and whose population
is about 90% of Britain's, the death toll stood at 30,739 as of
Monday, according to a measure based solely on confirmed cases
rather than suspected cases.
Broadly comparable British data on Monday showed 32,065 deaths.
Ministers dislike comparisons of the headline death toll because
Britain's performance in part reflects the fact that it has been
quicker to publish comprehensive data on COVID-19 deaths than other
European countries.
They say excess mortality - the number of deaths from all causes
that exceed the average for the time of year - is more meaningful
because it is internationally comparable.
Early evidence, though, suggests Britain is faring badly on that
front too.
So far this year, there have been more than 50,000 excess deaths
compared to a five-year average, ONS statistician Stripe said.
The ONS said deaths from all causes decreased for a second week
running as of May 1, but 8,012 more people than average died in the
18th week of 2020.
(Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Gareth Jones)
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