THERE have been more than 175,000 deaths in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate since the start of the pandemic, official figures showed today.

The latest data comes just days after the government’s preferred death toll, which includes only people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus, reached 150,000.

According to the new figures from the Office for National Statistics, a total of 176,035 deaths involving Covid-19 have now been registered in the UK.

This includes all instances where Covid-19 was mentioned on someone’s death certificate, either as a main cause of death or a contributory factor.

The figure was reached on December 20 but has only now been confirmed, due to the time it takes for deaths to be registered.

The government’s narrower count is likely to have missed a number of deaths linked to coronavirus – particularly during the first wave of the virus in spring 2020, when only a small amount of people were tested for Covid-19.

There were 582 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending December 31 where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.