The Government could soon publish three separate coronavirus daily death tolls, according to reports.
Last month Health Secretary Matt Hancock ordered a review into the system of reporting virus deaths, after it emerged that the figures included anyone who had died after a positive Covid-19 test, regardless of their cause of death or when they tested positive.
On Monday the official death toll across the whole UK rose by 55, to 46,655.
The Times reported that ministers are pushing for a reporting method that would only include deaths recorded 28 days after a positive test — lowering the current figure by about 10 per cent.
However, Government statisticians are thought to favour a third option, known as “60 days plus”, which uses a two-month cut-off but allows for additions for those who died later after a positive test.
Both new measures are set to be published alongside the existing method for comparison purposes, the paper reported.
Weekly figures published the Office of National Statistics shows that there have been at least 56,600 deaths registered in the UK were Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
