The North East areas where coronavirus death toll is dropping much slower than the rest of the UK

The number of deaths caused by COVID-19 is falling slower in the North East than in the rest of the country.

The latest official data has shown there were 271 fatalities linked to coronavirus in the region in the first full week of May, a fall of 14 per cent on the previous week.

But across England and Wales as a whole the fall was more than double that, with the weekly toll of cases linked to the virus declining from 6,035 to 3,930 by the week ending May 8.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also showed the total number of deaths and those in which COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate fell for the third week in a row.

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However, experts have also warned the May Bank Holiday, moved to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day, may have had an impact on the way the data was compiled.

“It’s difficult to assess the impact of that this year,” said Prof Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics at the Open University.

“The holiday was on a different day of the week than usual, and the impact on registration might well have been affected by the ongoing lockdown and also by the fact that it was a ‘special’ bank holiday to celebrate the anniversary of VE Day.”

Studies have shown the North East and Yorkshire region had the highest rate of coronavirus infection in the country.

And according to data prepared by regional NHS bosses, within the North East, Tyne and Wear is one of the worst affected areas, with Gateshead, Sunderland and South Tyneside making up the top three local authorities for infections per 100,000 people.