PEOPLE who live in England’s poorest neighbourhoods are dying from coronavirus at more than twice the rate of those in richer areas, data from the Office for National Statistics shows.
A rate of 392 people per 100,000 people died from the bug in England’s most deprived areas in December 2020 – more than double the 152 deaths per 100,000 in the country’s wealthiest regions.
⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
The shocking figures reveal the disproportionate impact the virus has had on some places, with Yorkshire and The Humber suffering the highest Covid death rate last month.
Wales saw a similar trend, with the rate of people dying from coronavirus almost twice as high in the most deprived areas than in the richest regions for December.
Coronavirus became the leading cause of death for the second month in a row in England last month, making up 20.8 per cent of all December fatalities, the figures show.
Yorkshire and The Humber was the region with the highest Covid fatality rate in England, with 320.5 deaths per 100,000 people.
It was followed by the East Midlands (316.0 deaths per 100,000).
Meanwhile, people in the South West died at the lowest rate from Covid-19, with 123.1 deaths per 100,000 people.
Overall, there were 52,676 deaths registered in England in December last year – 10,594 more than in December the previous year and 10,594 deaths more than the past five-year average.
A total of 60,921 people have died from coronavirus in hospitals across England since the start of the pandemic, according to NHS England.
And 89,261 people have died in the whole of Britain within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test result, data from the Department of Health shows.
The grim figure includes 671 fatalities recorded yesterday, along with 38,598 new infections.
Based on provisional data for January to December 2020, coronavirus was the leading cause of death in England and Wales, with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease being the second most common cause.
Graph shows how Covid death rates have changed in England and Wales throughout the pandemicCredit: ONS
The death rate in England and Wales was much higher in December 2020 than the same month the previous year
The Insidexpress is now on Telegram and Google News. Join us on Telegram and Google News, and stay updated.