Coronavirus death toll in London hospitals halves from peak

The number of coronavirus patients dying each day in London hospitals has halved, it can be revealed.

The daily death toll peaked in the capital’s hospitals on April 8, when 220 deaths occurred. A week ago (April 21) the number of deaths was 83, though they increased the following day (April 22) to 98 deaths.

The figures emerge in a new analysis of the day that people died, rather than the day the deaths were announced by NHS England.

The figures show the number of daily deaths in London’s hospitals has been below 100 since April 17 and that the death rate is falling faster in the capital than elsewhere in England.

Professor David Leon, an epidemiologist at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “[The] data confirm that the fall in London has been particularly steep from the peak on April 8.”

He added the figures up to April 21 show the London death rate had halved compared with a decline of a third in the rest of the country.

The total number of London hospital deaths rose by 87 yesterday to 4,693. There have been 13 deaths at the Nightingale field hospital in Docklands.

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Counting the number of deaths as they occurred by day gives a more accurate picture of the course of the pandemic. NHS England’s daily announcement of deaths includes those dating back a week or more.