By Tony O’Riley-
The British government has admitted that the coronavirus death toll is less than was previously thought and officially reduced the death count in the process.
The Department of Health and Social Care today reduced the coronavirus death toll by more than 5,000 following a review of how figures are calculated.
Officials said on Wednesday that the number of all deaths in patients testing positive for Covid-19 in the UK within 28 days was 41,329. It followed a review in the way Covid-19 deaths are counted following an investigation by Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, into the accurate numbers of Covid-19 deaths.
Methodology
The new methodology of counting deaths means the total number of people who have died from Covid-19 comes down from 46,706 to 41,239, while English figures for the most recent week of data – 18 to 24 July – will drop by 75%, from 442 to 111
The DHSC said the change came after the UK Government and devolved administrations agreed to publish the number of deaths that have occurred within 28 days of a positive lab-confirmed Covid test result each day.
Deaths had included anyone who had died following a positive coronavirus test at any point.This was regardless of the cause of death, and however much later they died. This revelation has disturbed some analysts who want an explanation for the careless death registrations .
Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show there have been 56,800 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.The revelation has disturbed some analysts who want an explanation for the careless death registrations .
The changes now insist on a cut-off point of 28 days, bringing the numbers closer to reality.
Exaggerated Systems
The revelation highlights the problem with exaggerated systems of operations where incompetence, presumption, or both can play a role in distorting reality. It also calls for broader assessment about the scale of the error of calculation across the Uk, and possibly abroad.
Adjustments
Adjustments in the numbers have been made, but not necessarily complete. A lot will depend on how the initial blunder in data collection gathering was discovered, and how extensively detailed facts about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of other patients have been sought and established.
The Nhs essentially owes a duty of informing the British public accurately about developments in a pandemic, including the provision of accurate information. The government has moved in quickly to correct the information, but whether even the correction is accurate is at this point unknown.