The death rate for coronavirus patients has increased in England for the time since the peak of the outbreak in April, data shows.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), published on Friday, showed that the age-standardised mortality rate in September due to Covid-19 was 12.6 per 100,000 people in England.
This is up from 7.2 per 100,000 in August and is the first increase since April, the ONS said.
The figure is still significantly lower than the peak of the virus in April when it was 623.2 deaths per 100,000 people, the data showed.
The ONS said: “In September 2020, the number of deaths and mortality rate due to Covid-19 remained significantly below levels seen in March 2020 – the first month a Covid-19 death was registered in England and Wales.
“However, the mortality rate due to Covid-19 was significantly higher in England in September 2020 compared with the previous month, August 2020.
“The mortality rate due to Covid-19 also increased in Wales, but this was not significant.
“This is the first increase in the mortality rate for deaths due to Covid-19 from one month to the next since April 2020.”
In Wales the age-standardised mortality rate in September due to Covid-19 was 10.8 per 100,000 people in Wales – 97.8% lower than the rate of 495.1 in April, the ONS said.
Coronavirus did not feature in the 10 leading causes of death in September in England or Wales.
In England Covid-19 was the 19th most common cause of death, and in Wales it was 24th.
Of the 39,827 deaths registered in September in England, 1.7% (690) involved coronavirus, and in Wales the figure was 1.3% of the 2,610 deaths (35).
The ONS analysis included only deaths with an underlying cause of Covid-19, referred to as “due to Covid-19”, which is different from “involving Covid-19”, which includes those where the virus is mentioned anywhere on a death certificate.
