You asked
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 please report:
The number of deaths recorded in week 49 of 2020 that were recorded as being "within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test" (i.e. all COVID-19 tests including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and antibody tests).
The number of deaths "associated with COVID-19" recorded in week 49 of 2020 where no "positive COVID-19 test" information was associated with the death.
We said
Thank you for your request.
Our mortality statistics are derived from the information provided on death certificates. When the deceased had tested positive for COVID-19 is not recorded on the death certificate. Therefore, we do not hold data on the number of deaths recorded in week 49 of 2020 that had occurred within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test.
The data to which you are referring are produced by Public Health England (PHE) and 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.
We hold analysis showing the number of deaths with COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death (which we refer to as 'due to' COVID-19) split by codes U07.1 and U07.2. U07.1 is the code used for deaths where COVID-19 was confirmed by a laboratory test to be the cause of death. U07.2 is the code used where the doctor certifying the death suspected the death involved COVID-19, but was not certain, for example, because no test was conducted. This was produced as experimental analysis and we currently have no plans to update this information or create further weekly analysis of this kind. Please see the spreadsheet accompanying this request showing this information, named 'Week_49_U07.1_U07.2_split'.
We report the number 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). Latest figures are available in the following publication: Provisional weekly deaths. Please click the 'download the data' button beneath Figure 2 to access a spreadsheet showing these figures for each week of 2020 and for January 2021. Data for week 49 of 2020 will be provided on this spreadsheet.
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).
From 29 April 2020, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) started to publish their COVID-19 daily surveillance figures for the UK, a new series that uses improved data for England produced by Public Health England (PHE). These figures provide a count of all deaths where a positive test for COVID-19 has been confirmed, wherever that death has taken place, a change from previously reporting only confirmed COVID-19 deaths in hospitals. A statement was published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), providing more detail of the changes.
On 12 August 2020, the PHE data series was revised to include two measures: deaths of positively tested individuals where the death occurred within 28 days and deaths within 60 days of a positive test. More information on these changes can be found in their technical summary (PDF, 854KB).