You asked
Total number of deaths within 28 days of positive Covid-19 test by age group (0-9 years; 10-19 years; 20-29 years; 30-39 years; 40-49 years; 50-59 years; 60-69 years; 70-79 years; 80-89 years; and 90+ years). Total number should be from start of COVID-19 death statistics measurement to as recent a date as possible (please provide dates).
We said
Thank you for your request.
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. Please contact coronavirus-tracker@phe.gov.uk for queries about this data.
Our mortality data comes from the information collected at death registration. All of the conditions mentioned on the death certificate are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). From all of these causes an underlying cause of death is selected using ICD-10 coding rules. The underlying cause of death is defined by WHO as:
a) the disease or injury that initiated the train of events directly leading to death, or
b) the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced the fatal injury
Our data are also different from the COVID-19 daily surveillance figures published by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on the GOV.UK website, for the UK as a whole and its constituent countries.
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).
We report the number of deaths involving COVID-19: that is, where COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, including in combination with other health conditions. Our latest figures by five-year age group are available in our provisional weekly deaths dataset.