UK Covid-19 death toll could be 15% higher than projected earlier: Data

Unlike the daily data published by the government that show only deaths in hospitals, Tuesday's figures include deaths in the community, such as at nursing homes

Britain's death toll from the coronavirus could turn out to be nearly 15% higher than what official figures have indicated so far, according to broader data published on Tuesday that includes deaths in the community such as in nursing homes.

The Office for National Statistics said 6,235 people in England and Wales had died by April 3 with mentions of Covid-19 on their death certificates.

"When looking at data for England, this is 15% higher than the NHS numbers as they include all mentions of Covid-19 on the death certificate, including suspected Covid-19, as well as deaths in the community," ONS statistician Nick Stripe said.

Unlike the daily data published by the government that shows only deaths in hospitals, Tuesday's figures include deaths in the community, such as at nursing homes.

In London, nearly half (46.6%) of deaths registered in Week 14 involved Covid-19, the ONS said.

During the week to April 3, deaths mentioning Covid-19 accounted for 21.2% of all deaths, compared with 4.8% in the previous week.

The latest daily death toll for the United Kingdom published showed a total of 11,329 people had died in hospitals as of Sunday at 1600 GMT across after testing positive for coronavirus.

UK's Heathrow Airport sees passenger numbers down 90% in April

Heathrow Airport, traditionally the busiest in Europe, forecast that passenger numbers would plunge by more than 90% in April, as coronavirus restrictions stop most people from traveling.

The remaining 10%, or around 680,000 people, still using Heathrow this month will be either Britons returning home after being stuck abroad or foreign citizens repatriating, as well as medical experts traveling to help with the crisis.

Heathrow also said on Tuesday its passenger numbers were down 52% in March compared with the same month last year, as the 6.5 million who went on holiday or traveled for work last March shrunk to 3.1 million this year.

The airport, which is owned by a group of investors including Spain's Ferrovial, the Qatar Investment Authority and China Investment Corp, said it was now only using one of its two runways.

Heathrow has for more than a decade been trying to build a third runway because it was operating at full capacity before the crisis.

Priority was now being given to cargo flights with medical supplies, the airport said, although overall cargo volumes were down by a third last month because supplies mostly travel in the hold of passenger planes.

British Airways (part of ICAG) and Virgin Atlantic have both partnered with the government to operate cargo-only flights this month, bringing medical supplies such as ventilators and personal protective equipment to the UK.

Heathrow said it wanted to work with the government to develop a health screening process for passengers and that common international practices needed to be developed.