East Riding of Yorkshire saw more than 100 excess deaths in first half of 2021

Across England, there were 29,700 excess deaths during the first eight weeks of the year, as the effects of the second coronavirus wave were felt. Photo: PA Images

Public Health England data compares the number of deaths registered with how many were predicted based on previous mortality rates to calculate the number of excess deaths in an area.

Based on estimates for 2015-19, the East Riding was predicted to see 2,123 deaths from any causes in the first 26 weeks of the year (January 2 and July 2).

But there were 2,254 deaths during this period – 131 more than were estimated. Of the deaths registered in the first half of 2021, 311 (14%) had Covid-19 on the death certificate. Excess deaths are considered a better measure of the overall impact of Covid-19 than simply looking at mortality directly linked to the virus, as they capture deaths that may have been indirectly caused by the crisis.

Across England, there were 29,700 excess deaths during the first eight weeks of the year, as the effects of the second coronavirus wave were felt.

But between March and the start of July, there were 10,700 fewer deaths than expected.

The King’s Fund said Covid-19 may have caused the premature deaths of some people, particularly the elderly, who would have died of other causes in the weeks and months following the peak periods of the pandemic.

Dr Veena Raleigh, senior fellow at the think tank, said: “Compared with the 2015-19 average, the waves of high excess deaths in both 2020 and 2021 have been followed by a fall in deaths. In total, there were more excess deaths in the second wave than the first wave of the pandemic.”

The week ending February 5 was the deadliest of the first half of 2021 in England, when there were 5,004 excess deaths.

In the East Riding, the highest weekly excess death total came in the seven days to January 8, when the area recorded 49 excess deaths. By contrast, there were 18 fewer deaths in the week ending April 2 than had been predicted.

Sarah Scobie, deputy director of research at the Nuffield Trust, said England has seen fewer deaths from other illnesses such as flu this year because of social distancing and lockdowns.