FOI Ref: FOI/2021/2698
You asked
I would like statistics from the beginning of the pandemic to the most recent date you have and for the whole of the UK or each country if that's not possible:
Total number of deaths where covid is mentioned on death certificate or within 28 days of a positive test, broken down into age groups.
Total number of people admitted to ICU due to covid, again broken down into age groups.
Total number of people with underlying health conditions who died of covid, broken down into age groups.
Total number of burials, cremations etc held in 2020.
Total number of people who tested positive, but we're asymptomatic.
Could I have the actual numbers rather than graphs.
We said
Thank you for your enquiry.
We are responsible for the provision of mortality statistics for England and Wales. National Records Scotland (NRS) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for statistics pertaining to Scotland and Northern Ireland. They can be contacted at foi@nrscotland.gov.uk and info@nisra.gov.uk respectively.
1. The data you are referring to (deaths within 28 days of a positive test), are produced by Public Health England and published via the government's COVID-19 dashboard. ONS data is different to that produced by PHE. You can read a blog by Professor John Newton of Public Health England about the complexities of counting COVID-19 deaths and the different methods used.
ONS provisional weekly deaths are derived from the formal process of death registration and may include cases where the doctor completing the death certificate diagnosed possible cases of COVID-19, for example, where this was based on relevant symptoms but no test for the virus was conducted. Guidance notes for doctors to follow when certifying a death, including best practice and the Coronavirus Act 2020, are available here: Completing a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD).
Although we only hold death registration data for England and Wales, we have collaborated with the constituent countries to produce headline COVID-19 related death statistics for the UK, for 2020 and 2021. This information is available in our Provisional weekly deaths in England and Wales publication. Figures for the UK are available for broad age groups (01-14; 15-44; 45-64; 65-74; 75-84; 85+). You can access the datasets directly, here.
Figures for deaths involving COVID in England and Wales are available in the same publication by five-year age groups. For deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland for all other causes, or by five-year age groups, please contact National Records of Scotland and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Centre.
3. Deaths due to COVID-19 by main pre-existing condition, and where COVID-19 was recorded as the sole condition on the death certificate, for England and Wales, are available in our Monthly mortality analysis, England and Wales publication. The dataset can be found here. This information is only available for England and Wales for the age groups 0-64 and 65 and over. We have also produced a more detailed tabulation of deaths registered in 2020 by pre-existing condition, for England and Wales, which is available here.
We do not publish this information for smaller age groups because data at such a granular level are disclosive. Section 39 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (SRSA) renders it an offence to disclose information held by the Statistics Board for statistical purposes that would identify an individual or a body corporate. We are therefore prohibited by law from publishing statistics in which individual businesses or persons can be identified. More information can be found in our disclosure control policy.
2 and 5. Unfortunately, information on COVID-19 hospitalisations and COVID-19 testing is not held by ONS. This is produced by Public Health England and published via the government's COVID-19 dashboard. NHS Digital may be better placed to answer this enquiry. They can be contacted via email at enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk.
4. Unfortunately, we do not hold information about burial or cremation, as this is not supplied during the registration of a death. Cremation statistics are available online from The Cremation Society. In the past, burial statistics were produced by the Ministry of Justice, but we are unable to find any recent data. Therefore, we would suggest you contact the General Register Office, or the information may be held by local authorities.
If you wish to discuss this further, please contact health.data@ons.gov.uk.