The UK has reported its highest number of Covid deaths for seven months, as 223 were recorded within 28 days of a positive test for the virus.
The daily death rate, by date reported, has not been as high since 9 March and brought the weekly toll to 911, a near-15% rise on the week.
Official death figures are released both by the date the death is reported and by the date the death occurred. Deaths by date reported are often relatively higher on Tuesdays because of the “weekend effect”, in which reporting catches up on lags over the previous days.
A further 43,738 coronavirus cases were reported, down slightly on Monday’s figure, though daily hospitalisations continued to rise, reaching 921, up 10% on the week.
After a bumpy September, confirmed cases have risen steadily in October, with Covid rates soaring among largely unvaccinated secondary school children and infections spilling over into older, more vulnerable age groups.
The spread of infections beyond younger people has driven up cases in those aged 50 and over, a trend that has started to push up hospitalisations and death rates.