Every day the number of Covid-19 deaths reported from hospitals across the UK make headlines.
But every time they are underestimates of the true death toll, just a snapshot of what is happening in wards across the country.
For a better estimate of the scale of the pandemic in the UK, the total number of deaths, including those not linked to coronavirus, hold some clues.
Thousands of excess deaths are now being reported across the country, leading to the highest weekly death toll since records began.
Record number of deaths
The total number of deaths in the UK has begun to spike, on a scale which has shocked statisticians.
22,351 deaths recorded in England and Wales in the seven days to April 17 makes it the deadliest week since 1993. It was more than 11,000 higher than the five-year average for the time of year.
Only 8,758 of those deaths had Covid-19 registered on the death certificate, leaving 3,096 unexplained excess deaths.
Excess Deaths - England, Wales, Scotland & N.I.
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Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, a statistician at the University of Cambridge, said the spike was "incredibly vivid".
"I don't think I've ever been as shocked when I've looked at something, particularly as just over half of that spike were death certificates with Covid written on them," he said.
"We knew there was going to be a pump in Covid-registered deaths. I hadn't expected such a huge number of deaths which didn't mention it on the death certificate."
The unexplained deaths are likely to be related to Covid-19 but have not yet been detected, such as deaths in care homes, where many residents die before a doctor can examine them, or deaths from unrelated illnesses.
Care England data recently suggested as many as 7,500 could have died from coronavirus in care homes so far.
A similar scenario is playing out in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
As death registration is a faster process in Scotland, more recent data is available. And more excess deaths are beginning to be associated with Covid-19.
In week 14 coronavirus deaths equated to around 46 per cent of all excess deaths. By week 15 it was almost 70 per cent, and in week 16, 77 per cent.
Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter said it is possible doctors are becoming more confident including Covid-19 on the death certificate.
"There is a demonstrable, statistically significant number of excess deaths that have not got Covid on the death certificate," he said.
"Perhaps we have elderly people not showing classic Covid symptoms, but for whom even a mild form of the disease is sufficient for them to succumb.
"Perhaps a doctor did not feel the symptoms were sufficient to be confident labelling it as Covid. This could be because doctors are becoming more confident at putting suspected Covid on death certificates.
"The other worrying factor is how many of those deaths are in fact people who have not got Covid but we might consider collateral damage - not attending hospital for their underlying condition, either because they feel they do not want to burden the hospital or they regard it as a risky place to be."
Tom Dening, a professor of dementia research at the University of Nottingham, said: "There are probably multiple reasons for other deaths. These include people not feeling able to attend their GP surgeries, call an ambulance or attend A&E as they may have done in the past. Therefore, some serious conditions may present too late for effective treatment.”
"Another possibility is that some people with serious conditions, like cancer or chronic kidney disease, are either unable or unwilling to attend hospital on the usual regular basis, so their treatment regimes may lapse."
It follows the release of NHS figures which showed that, since the beginning of the outbreak, A&E attendance has dropped to its lowest level since modern records began.
Shifting deaths from hospital to the home
The number of deaths in care homes in England and Wales have tripled in three weeks, according to the latest ONS data.
Deaths in care homes have doubled
In week 13 (ending March 27), a total of 2,489 people died in care homes across both countries. In the week to April 17, that number had risen to more than 7,000.
But in a further sign that Covid-19 care home deaths are being missed, only around 2,000 deaths in the same week were attributed to coronavirus, despite a rise in the total death toll of more than twice that number.
For the first time, the Office for National Statistics has released detailed locations of all deaths registered up to 17 April by location.
When matched with averages over the last five years for the same period, excess deaths are rising in hospitals, care homes and homes.
But it is only in hospitals where the majority of excess deaths are being linked expicitly to Covid-19. In the week to 17 April, more than 5,000 excess deaths occurred in care homes, and more than 2,200 in people's homes.
But just 2,000 care home deaths were labelled as relating to coronavirus, and 400 in homes.
Prof Heneghan said: "An increase in deaths in the home setting is concerning, and it could be the impact of people not seeking care. There is a real issue among homes and care homes, which will be driven largely by the elderly."
Excess deaths by location
Prof Spiegelhalter said "it is plausible there are now as many Covid labelled deaths occurring outside hospital as there are in hospitals in England".
He said data from the Care Quality Commission showed around 300 to 400 deaths in care homes last week, which roughly matches data being reported from hospitals by NHS England.
He added: "There has been a massive, unprecedented spike in total deaths and not all of them have Covid-19 on the death certificate. Over a quarter of excess deaths [in the week to 17 April] did not have Covid mentioned on the death certificate.
"We have seen a massive increase in deaths in care homes, and the majority of excess deaths in people's homes and care homes were not labelled as Covid.
"In hospital it is a completely different picture. There are thousands of people who would have died in hospital but are not. There has been a shift of deaths from hospitals into the community."
Simon Jones, director of policy and public affairs at the end of life charity, Marie Curie, said: “Today’s data confirms what we all feared.
With two thirds of all care home deaths from Covid-19 being accounted for in the week ending April 17, it is clear now that the epicentre of this crisis is in care homes – where the most vulnerable live and where staff, who are no doubt caring, committed and dedicated, are least equipped to manage death on this scale."
Who is most at risk?
For the first time data has now been compiled on the underlying conditions linked to Covid-19 fatalities.
The ONS analysed data from confirmed deaths throughout March in England and Wales, which showed it was the third most common underlying cause of death that month, behind heart disease and dementia.
Dementia and Alzheimer's disease was the underlying cause of death in the most deaths for the month - 6,401 - the equivalent of 130 deaths per 100,000 people - and which accounted for 14 per cent of all deaths in March.
This was followed by ischaemic heart diseases, with 4,042 deaths - 83 per 100,000 people -which accounted for nine per cent of the total.
But heart diseases and dementia are also some of the biggest risk factors when someone contracts coronavirus.
Underlying conditions for Covid-19 deaths
Each condition was found in 14 per cent of all deaths where the main cause of death was Covid-19.
In all, the vast majority of coronavirus deaths were associated with an underlying health condition.
Across all age brackets, only one death in ten were otherwise healthy with no associated health problems.
That figure rose to one in four among the under 50s, where the overall number of deaths remains relatively low.
The virus remains most dangerous for those aged over 70.
Of the confirmed deaths linked to coronavirus in March, four in every five was aged over 70.
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