A spike on Covid deaths on the hottest day ever in England has stunned experts, who consider it a first sign of a surge in heatwave fatalities.
About 258 people died in England due to Covid on July 19, when the mercury hit 40.2C (104.4F), the hottest day.
The casualties figure was up by 100 (68%) in a week, marking the highest daily fatality toll since April, when infections were at record levels.
Scientists who are trying to identify reasons of the sudden spike and they told media that Covid infections were already at high levels when the heatwave hit. The rise may have been among people who died from heat-related illnesses, but happened to have Covid at the same time, they said.
Others warned some elderly and vulnerable people may have died because they were isolating alone with the virus. The sweltering temperatures may have also worsened people’s Covid infections, Daily Mail reported today.
However, the way deaths are registered in the NHS mean many of the deaths likely occurred days before they were actually posted on the Government dashboard.
Daily virus deaths had already been rising slowly earlier this month and an estimated 3.1million people were infected in the days leading up to July 19.
