You asked
I require the following information:
From Jan 1st 2021 to the 12th Jan 2021 how many deaths in total for what ever reason have been recorded in the UK
From that time how many of the total deaths have been recorded as being from Covid-19 whether or not having a positive test for Covid 19
From that time how many of the total have been recorded as being Cancer-related
From that time how many of the total have been recorded as being from natural causes.
From the that time how many from the total have been recorded as being related to a heart/of Lung condition
And from that time how many from the total have been recorded for any other reason other than the above.
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.
Further, our mortality statistics are derived from the information provided on a death certificate. Please see the following guidance provided for doctors completing a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) regarding deaths from 'natural causes':
4.4 Never use 'natural causes' alone. The term "natural causes" alone, with no specification of any disease on a doctor's MCCD, is not sufficient to allow the death to be registered without referral to the coroner. If you do not have any idea what disease caused your patient's death, it is up to the coroner to decide what investigations may be needed.
Source: Guidance for doctors completing Medical Certificates of Cause of Death in England and Wales
Our data is derived from the death certificate and there is no ICD-10 code for 'natural causes'. Therefore, we do not hold this information.
However, please see the following information, which provides all the available analysis we hold related to your questions for England and Wales:
The following publication, Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, will supply deaths from COVID-19, respiratory illness, influenza and pneumonia, and all causes from 2 January 2021 to 15 January 2021.
This publication confirms that there have been 35,793 deaths registered between these dates of all causes.
The publication also provides the following table. This shows provisional figures for deaths registered in England and Wales from respiratory disease, influenza and pneumonia, and COVID-19:
| Week number | 1 | 2 | 1 and 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week ended | 08-Jan-21 | 15-Jan-21 | 02-Jan-21 to 15-Jan-21 |
| Deaths by cause 1,2,3,4 | |||
| Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99) | |||
| Deaths involving respiratory disease (any mention on the death certificate) | 7,025 | 7,497 | 14,522 |
| of which, deaths due to respiratory disease (underlying cause) | 1,262 | 1,199 | 2,461 |
| Influenza and pneumonia (J08-J18) | |||
| Deaths involving influenza and pneumonia (any mention on the death certificate) | 4,649 | 5,273 | 9,922 |
| of which, deaths due to influenza and pneumonia (underlying cause) | 380 | 381 | 761 |
| COVID-19 (U07.1, U07.2) | |||
| Deaths involving COVID-19 (any mention on the death certificate) | 6,057 | 7,245 | 13,302 |
| of which, deaths due to COVID-19 (underlying cause) | 5,367 | 6,510 | 11,877 |
Download this table
.xls .csvAnalysis showing leading causes of death in January 2021 will be published as part of our Monthly Mortality Analysis on 25 February.
ONS COVID-19 deaths statistics information
Doctors are required by law to certify the cause of death 'to the best of their knowledge and belief'. That means they use their medical expertise to decide the cause based on symptoms, physical examination, hospital records, laboratory tests, and all the other information available. If death is certified by a coroner, the Coroner's Court follows legal rules of evidence when deciding the causes of death. For deaths involving COVID-19, whether there was a positive test result is only one piece of information to be considered, alongside the patient's symptoms and other evidence. So, a death can be certified as involving COVID-19 without a positive test, based on any sound medical evidence, like observed symptoms or X-ray images of the lungs. In the absence of a test result, the doctor may sometimes certify the death as 'suspected' COVID-19.
Our data as described here are different from the figures on COVID-19 deaths published on the government's COVID-19 dashboard which shows 'deaths within 28 days of a positive test'. 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.