Weekly registered deaths involving coronavirus in England and Wales are at their lowest level for seven months, figures show.
There were 260 deaths registered in the week ending April 23 where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is down 28% on the previous week and the lowest number since the week ending September 25.
Some 2.6% of all registered deaths in the week ending April 23 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate.
Overall, there were 9,941 deaths from all causes registered over the seven days – 5.3% below the corresponding period in 2015-19.
It is the seventh consecutive week where the total number of deaths was below the five-year average.
The latest weekly figures include 50 care home resident deaths involving Covid-19 – down 28% on the previous week.
A total of 42,381 care home residents in England and Wales have had Covid-19 recorded on their death certificate since the pandemic began.
The figures cover deaths of care home residents in all settings, not just in care homes.
Some 152,491 deaths have now occurred in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, the ONS said.
