Coronavirus: Europe-high death toll shocks Britain

Britain has Europe’s highest coronavirus death toll after latest figures show nearly 30,000 people have died across the country.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson takes a morning walk in central London on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

Britain has Europe’s highest corona­virus death toll after latest figures show nearly 30,000 people have died across the country.

While the US, with more than 71,000 deaths, leads the mortality count, Britain has overtaken Italy as the centre of the virus in Europe, with 29,500 deaths to Italy’s 29,315.

The trajectory of the deaths also indicates that Britain, which has a falling death rate despite the daily counts moving between 300 and 700, is several weeks behind Italy.

Officials are wary at direct comparisons as countries classify coronavirus deaths in different ways. In Britain, for instance, deaths in care homes can be classed as a coronavirus death without any testing. There is confusion, too, over whether a person dies of coronavirus or with it.

But the all-cause mortality rate shows deaths in Britain had doubled in April from usual averages.

Three-quarters mentioned corona­virus, raising fears about one-quarter of all deaths may have been an indirect result of the lockdown, such as not presenting to hospitals for heart attacks, and ­suicides exacerbated by anxiety.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the deaths were a “massive tragedy”.

“I don’t think we’ll get a real verdict on how well countries have done until the pandemic is over and particularly until we’ve got comprehensive international data on all-cause mortality,” he said.

University of Cambridge statistician David Spiegelhalter said all the official death numbers in all countries were “substantial underestimates” of those dying directly from the virus and those who died as a result of the epidemic and the measures taken in response.

“I think we can safely say that none of these countries is doing well, but this is not (the) Euro­vision (Song Contest) and it is pointless to try and rank them,” he said.

“I believe the only sensible comparison is by looking at excess all-cause mortality, adjusted for the age distribution of the country. And even then, it will be very difficult to ascribe the reasons for any differences.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to set out a “road map’’ on Sunday for easing the lockdown, ­although his advisers continue to caution about the high numbers of new infections — about 4000 each day. However, as testing has been expanded, the results are picking up much larger numbers of mild cases and the demand for hospital beds and intensive care units has been falling for weeks.

The temporary Nightingale hospitals across the country have been near empty and the 4000-bed London version has just 20 ­patients and will close in days.

Mr Johnson, who spent three days in intensive care with the virus, is wary of a second peak, despite the crushing effects of lockdown on the British economy.

He and his advisers have been looking to European countries’ rates of infections since they have begun easing measures.

In Austria, which opened small shops and garden centres weeks ago, and then hairdressers and large stores last Friday, there has been no new spike. “The situation is very, very constant, very, very stable, and that is a really very, very positive,” Austrian Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said.

Mr Johnson might also look to Italy’s crippled economy and the impact that country faced when it ­allowed workers to return to work last Monday.

Of the 4.4 million people permitted to resume their jobs, fewer than two million were taken back by employers.

“People didn’t go back because companies cannot start full production when the market has collapsed,” union boss Rocco Palombella said.

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier and state ministers have agreed to a controlled ­reopening of bars and restaurants for two weeks from Saturday. ­

Bavaria will open its beer gardens in a fortnight.