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Covid drops to 24th leading cause of death in England

The leading cause of death was ischaemic heart disease.

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Coronavirus deaths

Covid-19 dropped to the 24th leading cause of death in England last month, new figures show.

A total of 333 deaths were due to coronavirus in May, the equivalent of 0.9% of all deaths registered in England, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The leading cause of death was ischaemic heart disease (3,780 deaths), followed by dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (3,711 deaths).

Coronavirus graphics
(PA Graphics)

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 April and then down to 24th last month.

The ONS also said that the age-standardised mortality rate (ASMR) of deaths due to Covid-19 had dropped for the fourth month in a row to 7.1 deaths per 100,000 people in England – the lowest rate since August 2020.

May was also the second consecutive month that deaths in England were below the five-year average (10.7% lower) since August 2020, the ONS said.

In Wales, Covid-19 was the 31st leading cause of death in May, accounting for 15 deaths, or 0.6% of the total.

Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause (300 deaths), followed by dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (212).

Covid-19 was the leading cause of death in Wales from November 2020 to February 2021, the third leading cause in March and 18th in April

The ONS said that the ASMR of deaths due to Covid-19 in Wales fell to 5.2 deaths per 100,000 people, the lowest rate since the start of the pandemic.

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