Covid-19 drops to ninth leading cause of death in England

Covid-19 was the ninth leading cause of death in England last month, the lowest ranking since September 2020, new figures show.

A total of 941 deaths were due to coronavirus in April, the equivalent of 2.4% of all deaths registered in England, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The leading cause of death was ischaemic heart diseases (4,144 deaths), followed by dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (4,018 deaths).

Covid-19 was the leading cause of death in England every month from November 2020 to February 2021.

In March it dropped from top spot to third place, before falling to ninth place in last month.

April was also the first month where deaths in England were below the five-year average (6.1% lower) since August 2020, the ONS said.

The overall mortality rate was 851.2 deaths per 100,000 people: the lowest mortality rate for the month of April since the ONS data time series began in 2001.

In Wales, Covid-19 was the 18th leading cause of death in April, accounting for 35 deaths, or 1.4% of the total.

Ischaemic heart diseases was the leading cause (300 deaths), followed by dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (267).

Covid-19 was the leading cause of death in Wales from November 2020 to February 2021, and the third leading cause in March.

The overall mortality rate in Wales last month was 920.0 deaths per 100,000 people – again, the lowest since the ONS time series began in 2001.