“The coronavirus pandemic has already caused as many as 41,000 deaths in the UK, according to a Financial Times analysis of the latest data from the Office for National Statistics. The estimate is more than double the official figure of 17,337 released by ministers on Tuesday, which is updated daily and only counts those who have died in hospitals after testing positive for the virus.”
This chart is rather telling:
As is this one too.
It seems high improbable, impossible some might even say, this govt does not know deaths are happening outside of hospitals and choose to ignore them.
Despite this, the Financial Times believe deaths may now have plateaued. From the figures they have produced we would tend to agree with them. If they have, it would be at a figure of well over 1,000 a day. Unless the reinfection rate falls to below 1 we see no good reason why this will change. In that case the country as a whole may well be facing hundreds of thousands of excess deaths this year
But, and there is always a but, which is this:
“The ONS data also showed that the vast majority of all excess deaths were people aged over 75 years old. This age bracket accounted for 70 per cent of the total, the same proportion as those with Covid-19 on their death certificates.”
The virus itself is indiscriminate. It doesn’t care about your wealth, occupation or social status; it is a microscopic parasite incapable of prejudice.
But make no mistake, the fiscal, social and financial impact of the pandemic is far greater if you are poor. And we cannot forget the elderly and others, who are most at risk from it.
The virus has impacted each and every one of us, but we will not all suffer in the same way.
