Yorkshire was the highest region in England for Covid deaths in December, latest figures show

Figures released on Monday by the Office for National Statistics show that there were 320.5 deaths per 100,000 people in Yorkshire and the Humber in December 2020.

This was the English region with the highest mortality rate for deaths due to Covid that month.

According to Government data, the total deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test as of Sunday January 14 at 4pm in Yorkshire and the Humber was 8,450 deaths.

This is a daily average of 33 deaths.

There have been 9,027 deaths with Covid on the death certificate up until the same date and time, averaging at 266 each week.

The Office for National Statistics data showed that East Midlands followed as the second region with the highest mortality rate for deaths due to Covid with 316.0 deaths per 100,000 people in December.

The South West had the lowest COVID-19 mortality rate, at 123.1 deaths per 100,000 people.

There were 52,676 deaths registered in England in total in December which is 10,594 (25.2 per cent) more than the five year average (2015 to 2019) for that month.

Coronavirus was the leading cause of death in December in all English regions for the second consecutive month, accounting for 20.8 per cent of all deaths registered in December.

It accounted for more than double the deaths of the second leading death-cause in England in December which was dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

The figures also showed that the mortality rate for deaths due to Covid in December 2020 in the most deprived areas was 391.6 deaths per 100,000 people which was more than 2.5 times the mortality rate in the least deprived areas in England at a rate of 152.3 deaths per 100,000 people.