The U.K. has the highest official death toll as a result of the coronavirus in Europe, new figures show, with more than 32,000 fatalities recorded since the start of the outbreak.
Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday revealed that 29,648 people had died due to the coronavirus in England and Wales through to April 24.
The addition of deaths in Scotland and Northern Ireland takes the U.K.’s death toll to 32,313, according to Reuters.
It means the U.K. has now surpassed Italy as the worst-hit country in Europe and is second only to the U.S. for Covid-19-related deaths worldwide, according to the official statistics for each country.
To date, Italy has recorded 29,079 deaths as a result of the coronavirus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Italy’s total does not include suspected cases and the country’s statistics agency ISTAT reportedly claimed on Monday that thousands of fatalities in the country have not been officially attributed to Covid-19.
Experts have warned against international comparisons, citing differences in demographics and because each country has its own way of measuring the number of deaths. The U.K. only recently started adding deaths in the community, such as nursing homes, to its official statistics; previously, it had included only those who died in hospital.
