There were 963 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending March 19 where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is the lowest number since the week ending October 16 and the first time the weekly death toll has fallen below 1,000 since the following week.

The figure is down 36 per cent on the previous week’s total, with about one in 11 (9.3 per cent) of all deaths registered in the latest week mentioning coronavirus on the death certificate.The latest figures take the UK Covid-19 death toll to more than 150,000.

The weekly deaths involving coronavirus has dropped below 1,000 for the first time since October

A total of 150,116 deaths have now occurred in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

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Overall, 10,311 deaths were registered in the week to March 12, 8.0 per cent below the average for the corresponding period in 2015-19.

It is the second week in a row that the overall number of deaths has been below the five-year average.

Prior to the two most recent weeks, the last time deaths had been below average was in the week to September 4.

Deaths involving Covid-19 among people aged 80 and over have now fallen by 90 per cent since the second-wave peak, the figures suggest.

A total of 536 Covid-19 deaths in the 80 and over age group occurred in England and Wales in the week ending March 12, down from 5,349 deaths in the week ending January 22.

Deaths for those aged 75-79 dropped 88 per cent in the same period, compared with falls of 87 per cent for those aged 70-74 and 83 per cent for both those aged 65-69 and 60-64.

Care home resident deaths involving Covid-19 have fallen more than a third (35 per cent) in a week, to 195 deaths in the week ending March 19.

Since the second wave peak for care home resident deaths – the week to January 29 – they have fallen 92 per cent.

Deaths that occurred in the most recent week of reporting – the week to March 19 – are still being registered.

A total of 41,953 care home residents in England and Wales have now had Covid-19 recorded on their death certificate since the pandemic began.

The ONS figures cover deaths of care home residents in all settings, not just in care homes.

Weekly coronavirus deaths in England and Wales falls below 1,000 for first time since October