The number of excess deaths in England and Wales spiked in the second week in January, reaching the highest level since the second wave of COVID-19 deaths, the latest data show.
According to provisional figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday, 17,381 deaths were registered in England and Wales in the week ending Jan. 13, some 2,837, or 19.5 percent higher than the five-year average of the same week.
This is the highest number of weekly excess deaths since the week ending Feb. 12, 2021, when the UK was emerging from the Alpha wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On that occasion, deaths involving COVID-19 accounted for 37 percent of all those registered….