Covid-19 leading cause of death in England and Wales for second month running
Coronavirus was the leading cause of death in December for the second consecutive month in England and Wales.
Last month, the virus was responsible for just over one in five (20.8%) of all deaths registered in England, while in Wales, it caused more than one in four (27.4%).
Dementia and Alzheimer's disease was the second leading cause of death in both countries. Covid-19 accounted for more than double the second leading cause in England and more than triple in Wales.
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In December 2020, there were 52,676 deaths registered in England. This total is 10,594 deaths (25.2%) more than the five-year average (2015 to 2019) for December.
In Wales, there were 3,941 deaths registered - 1,075 deaths (37.5%) more than the five-year average for December.
Based on provisional data, Covid-19 was also the leading cause of death in England and Wales for the entirety of 2020. Once again, dementia and Alzheimer's disease were the second most common cause of death.
The age-standardised mortality rate of deaths due to coronavirus in December 2020 was 233.6 deaths per 100,000 people in England and 374.4 deaths per 100,000 people in Wales.
The mortality rate significantly increased for the fourth consecutive month in England and the third consecutive month in Wales.
In December 2020, Yorkshire and the Humber was the English region with the highest mortality rate for deaths due to Covid-19 (320.5 deaths per 100,000 people). The East Midlands had the second highest death rate (316.0 deaths per 100,000 people).
The South West had the lowest at 123.1 deaths per 100,000 people.
In England, the mortality rate for deaths due to coronavirus in December 2020 in the most deprived areas was 391.6 deaths per 100,000 people. This was more than 2.5 times the mortality rate in the least deprived areas (152.3 deaths per 100,000 people).
In Wales, the Covid-19 mortality rate in the most deprived areas was nearly twice the mortality rate in the least deprived areas. There were 560.0 deaths per 100,000 people in the most deprived areas, compared to 285.9 deaths per 100,000 people in the least deprived areas.