Deaths solely from Covid-19 with no other causes of death-on-death certificate

FOI Ref: FOI/2021/2861

You asked

How many people died solely from Covid-19 with no other causes of death on the death certificate?

We said

Thank you for your enquiry requesting information on COVID-19 deaths with no other cause of death on the death certificate.

The doctor or coroner certifying a death can record more than one health condition or event on the form. The medical certificate of cause of death has two parts, Part 1 contains the sequence of health conditions or events leading directly to death, while Part 2 can contain other health conditions that contributed to the death but were not part of the direct sequence. For statistical purposes one of the health conditions on the certificate is chosen as the 'underlying cause of death'. The underlying cause of death is defined as the health condition or event that started the train of events leading to death and is worked out according to rules from the World Health Organisation (WHO).  You can read in detail about the coding of causes of death and identifying the underlying cause in the ONS User guide to mortality statistics and the WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) instruction manual.

COVID-19 deaths by underlying cause and contributory cause are reported weekly in the Deaths Registered Weekly in England and Wales publication, which is updated every Tuesday.

When we say that a death 'involved' COVID-19, we mean that COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, possibly along with other health conditions, not necessarily as the underlying cause of death. When we say that a death was 'due to' COVID-19, we mean that COVID-19 was the underlying cause of death, because it was either the only health condition mentioned on the death certificate, or it was the one that started the train of events leading to death. You can see how these different categories are used in the ONS Monthly mortality analysis.

2020 data is available in our recent publication Deaths due to COVID-19, registered in England and Wales: 2020

Deaths due to and involving COVID-19 registered in England and Wales: 2020

Due to COVID-19: 73,766

Involving COVID-19: 81,795

If you would like any further information, please contact Health.Data@ons.gov.uk