30 July 2020

Why England was hit harder by Covid-19 than any other country in Europe

The findings of the ONS show how a wider spread of infection, and less severe or timely measures to respond to it, are factors in the deaths of many thousands of people.

TOPSHOT - A member of the clinical staff wears personal protective equipment (PPE) as she cares for a patient at the Intensive Care unit at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, on May 5, 2020. - NHS staff wear an enhanced level of PPE in higher risk areas such as critical care to minimise the spread of infection between staff and patients. Britain's death toll from the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has topped 32,000, according to an updated official count released Tuesday, pushing the country past Italy to become the second-most impacted after the United States. (Photo by Neil HALL / POOL / AFP) (Photo by NEIL HALL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

England had the highest levels of excess mortality in Europe during the most crucial months of the Covid-19 pandemic so far, according to data released today.

A report by the Office for National Statistics compares the excess death figures across all European countries where data was available for the first half of 2020, and standardises the numbers to control for differences in population size and age structure. It finds that between 3 January and 12 June this year, England had the highest overall levels of excess mortality on the continent.