UK recorded around 64,500 excess deaths during pandemic, says ONS official

A worker cleans the windows of Topshop on Oxford Street in London. Credits: AFP Photo

About 64,500 more people than usual have died in the United Kingdom during this year's coronavirus pandemic, an expert from the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday.

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"Across the UK about 52,000 deaths have mentioned COVID with 64,500 'excess' deaths," ONS head of health analysis Nick Stripe tweeted.

Epidemiologists say excess mortality - deaths from all causes that exceed the five-year average for the time of year - is the best way of gauging the number who have died from a disease outbreak because it is internationally comparable.

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