Marie Curie responds to latest ONS figures

The Office for National Statistics figures released today show that deaths from Covid-19 continue to be far higher than the daily figure announced by the government. More than one-third of deaths in England & Wales are now occurring from Covid-19 or respiratory disease, and nearly one-third of deaths are taking place outside hospital.

Matthew Reed, Marie Curie Chief Executive said:

“These statistics show the devastating impact that coronavirus is continuing to have in communities and families. They show us in more detail where people are dying and just how many are dying in care homes and their own homes. More people are dying each week now than at any time in recent memory and as many as one in three of them are dying from this virus.

“As numbers continue to rise, we must also take great care not to forget the individual families behind each one of these statistics, each of whom is grieving a loved whose life has been cut short. Grief can feel very isolating and when families are not able to grieve as they normally would, these feelings can be even more intense to cope with. At Marie Curie we continue to support families in these difficult times to navigate these moments and offer support for loss and bereavement.

 “The scale of Covid-19 underlines how vital it is that community care services like Marie Curie are given the support we need to care for so many more dying people and their bereaved loved ones. The dramatic rise in deaths across all care settings to previously unforeseen levels will be stretching resources thinner than ever and deeply affecting care staff in all our communities. Every service delivering community care must get the resources it needs to fight this disease.”