(Bloomberg) -- The number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in England and Wales rose for the first time since April, the latest sign that the pandemic is spreading through the population again.
Virus-linked deaths rose 27% to 99 in the seven days through Sept. 11 from a week earlier, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. Death registrations may have been lower in the previous week due to the bank holiday, the government agency said.
The news comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to announce stricter restrictions on public life in order to combat rising numbers of cases and hospitalizations. U.K. workers are now being encouraged to work from home where possible, while pubs and restaurants will be forced to close at 10 p.m. from Thursday.
- In a separate report, the ONS said that caring, leisure and other services was the only major occupation group to have a significantly higher rate of Covid-19 linked deaths among women before and during lockdown, when compared with rates among those of the same age and gender
- Among men, four of the nine major occupation groups (elementary; caring, leisure and personal services; process, plant and machine operatives; and skilled trades) had statistically significantly higher rates of death involving COVID-19 both before and during lockdown.
- The northwest had the highest number of deaths in England due to the virus. The government has been battling a rise in cases there since August by introducing further lockdown measures across the region.
- The ONS figures are based on all mortalities where novel coronavirus is mentioned on death certificate. Overall deaths also rose above the five-year average again, having fallen below it in the previous week.
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