More than 39,000 confirmed deaths involving the coronavirus have occurred in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The latest ONS figures also showed there were a total of 9,980 coronavirus-related deaths in care homes in England and Wales up to 8 May.
The ONS statisticians pointed out that the northwest saw the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths of any region for the first time since the pandemic began, after recording 576 deaths in a seven-day period.
However, for the second week running all regions showed a decrease in the percentage of deaths involving Covid-19.
Coronavirus-related deaths across England and Wales have fallen by more than a third in the space of a week, the new figures show.
There were 3,930 deaths registered in the week up to May 8 mentioning “novel coronavirus”, ONS said. The latest weekly figures represent a 35 per cent drop from the previous week.
Weekly coronavirus-related deaths in care homes also fell to 1,666 in the week ending May 8. This is the second weekly fall in a row, down from 2,423 deaths in the previous seven days – a decrease of 31 per cent.
The ONS pointed out that the early May bank holiday had affected the number of registrations of deaths from all causes.
Nick Stripe, head of the health analysis at the ONS, has raised the possibility the death toll from the coronavirus could be even higher.
He estimated that the total number of excess deaths across the UK – the number above what might be expected at this time of year – was just under 55,000 by early May.
Mr Stripe told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme: “Across England and Wales up to 8 May we are now looking at an excess deaths figure of just under 50,000. If we look at the UK as a whole, that is just under 55,000 excess deaths.”
The statistician also said the ONS planned to publish more research examining why the excess deaths figure was so high.
The ONS’s latest total number of deaths is 33 per cent higher than the total reported by the Department of Health and Social Care for the same period. This is because the ONS figures include all mentions of Covid-19 on a death certificate, including suspected Covid-19.
Responding to the latest figures, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Every death from this virus is a tragedy and our deepest sympathies go out to the families who have sadly lost relatives.
“Supporting the social care sector throughout this pandemic is a priority. We are working around the clock to give the social care sector the equipment and support they need.”
The spokesperson added: “We are ensuring millions of items of PPE are available to care workers, using our increased testing capacity to test care home residents and staff regardless of symptoms and introducing our new £600m Infection Control Fund to help prevent the spread in care homes.”
