Less deaths due to cancer

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The facts are in that BBC article I linked to btw.

I’m confused Gran by your posts. You seem to be enormously downplaying the situation. If I’ve understood the ONS figures correctly, the ve rage number of deaths per week at this time of the year is around 10,000- if there’s a 6,000 excess, that’s an enormous increase. Also, we know that not everyone who dies in a care home is actually seen by a doctor- doctors are filling in causes of death through a third party discussion. I think it’s accepted that not saying covid on a death certificate doesn’t mean it wasn’t involved in some way - either directly or contributory.

You want to know what GNetters think? I think that the facts are the things to be concerning yourself with. HTH.

If it's obvious I am puzzled why you are asking

Obviously... and?

Gran if many of us weren’t ‘stuck indoors’ the number of deaths would be beyond dreadful. Haven’t you understood the reasons behind what’s happening?

A pandemic is an infectious disease which has spread over a wide geographical area Granny52, in this case most of the world.

Yes have read opinion of BBC thanks, I would like to know what Gransnet readers think

This explains it in more detail Grany www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51979654

Thanks to all for comments. I gather there are around 6000 extra deaths from all causes compared to last year and it seems likely many of these were in fact due to other causes unrelated to coronavirus. As UK population is over 66 million I dont know what percentage that is, but I would say a small one. How has this been calculated to be a pandemic and does this minuscule figure really justify us all being stuck indoors fearing for our lives and unable to see our families.

Again I need to find the source but I'm sure I read that the number of homeless people dying in New York has increased eight fold during the pandemic.

6,000 more deaths than the same week last year.

It’s difficult to say what the margin of error is likely to be at these unprecedented times - time will tell I’m sure.

SirChenjin If the reporting of deaths is delayed by the state of emergency, it could lead to errors which would need to be corrected over time. Otherwise, I would imagine the totals and figures by region and place of death would be as accurate as they normally are, subject to human error. I think they are good a guide as we are likely to get at this time, no more no less.

The COVID-19 data simply reflects whether the term appears anywhere on the death certificate. You can make of that what you like but it doesn't pretend to be more than it is.

For those of us in Scotland www.gov.scot/news/additional-covid-19-daily-data-published/

Sadly, as expected, the latest ONS data published today for the week to 3 April shows a substantial rise in deaths in England & Wales at 16, 387 [compared with 11,141 in the previous week and 10,305 for the comparable average over the past 5 years]. The latest figures include 3,475 where COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate. Total deaths comprise 48% in hospital; 24% at home; 23% in care homes; and 5% elsewhere. The main categories all showed significant increases in number of deaths.

As a consequence, total deaths in 2020 to 3 April have now overtaken the comparable average by 2,271 to 166,444.

Grim reading but not unexpected. I will keep an eye on the numbers but will probably only update if people think it is useful.

We'll never know the true figures but knowing pandemics it'll be in the millions, not thousands as has been reported.
Seasonal 'flu kills thousands, pandemics kill millions.

It’s like the massive figures for death due to heart failure. That’s what it usually says when someone has just died of old age. Their heart stopped beating but there has to be some cause of death on the certificate.

Death certificates have always had Primary cause, secondary cause, haven’t they!

I know my husbands death certificate listed pneumonia as the primary cause and leukaemia as secondary, although he wouldn’t have had pneumonia if he hadn’t have had leukaemia.

Statistically it’s going to be almost impossible to unravel.

Interesting. Must say I’d been wondering about the daily U.K. death rate in normal times.

Sorry, trying to do two things at once.

They’re really not accurate Monica, I agree.

The second paragraph to Cunco.

No they’re really not Monica

I’m aware of how the ONS reports deaths but I would question whether it’s ‘largely accurate’ at this time. How are you quantifying that?

There are also people who are nowhere near the end but whose immune systems are suppressed for one reason or another who may get this.

SirChenjin, that is what I said and why the government figures are not a good guide.