You asked
How many people have died in your hospitals from covid 19 only (alone no other underline health issues).
I can see the deaths you publish online however these are deaths within 28 days of a covid test meaning they could of died from other causes . I would just like to know the exact figure from 1 febuary 2020 to the 31 december 2020 of people that died from Covid-19 and nothing else please.
We said
Thank you for your request.
The data to which you are referring (deaths within 28 days of a positive test), are produced by Public Health England are published via the government's COVID-19 dashboard.
Our 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. Please contact coronavirus-tracker@phe.gov.uk for queries about this data.
Our 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).
Provisional counts of the number of deaths involving COVID-19 for England and Wales can be found in the latest provisional weekly deaths publication. This publication includes a breakdown of deaths 'due to' COVID-19 (where it was recorded as the underlying cause of death) and deaths 'involving' COVID-19 (where it was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate).
Numbers of deaths where COVID-19 was recorded as the sole condition on the death certificate for March to June 2020 can be found here: Deaths involving COVID-19, England and Wales. We put this publication on hold when numbers of deaths fell in Summer 2020 but due to the subsequent increase, we will be releasing an update soon analysing data from July onwards. The publication date will be announced via our Release Calendar.
In order to provide the number of deaths that occurred in hospitals where COVID-19 was the sole condition mentioned on the death certificate, we would need to create bespoke analysis. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Public Authorities are not obligated to create information in order to respond to requests. We therefore consider this to be information not held.
However, this information will be available to order as bespoke analysis after death registrations for 2020 are finalised and published in July 2021. Bespoke analysis of mortality data for England and Wales are subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreements of costs, where appropriate. Such enquiries would fall outside of the Freedom of Information regime and should be made to: Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.