Weekly registered deaths involving coronavirus in England and Wales have fallen to their lowest level for two months, figures show.

       Some 764 deaths were registered in the week to December 10 where “novel coronavirus” was mentioned on the death certificate, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

       This represents 6.4% of all deaths registered over the seven-day period and is a 4% fall from the previous week when 792 deaths were recorded.

       It is the lowest number of weekly deaths registered since the week to October 15, when the total was 713.

       (PA Graphics)

       (PA Graphics)

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       It is too early to see what impact the rapid spread of the Omicron variant will have in the weekly ONS data on Covid-19 deaths.

       The figures also show that 65 care home resident deaths involving Covid-19 in England and Wales were registered in the week to December 10, down slightly from 67 in the previous week.

       In total, 44,406 care home residents in England and Wales have had Covid-19 recorded on their death certificate since the pandemic began.

       The ONS figures cover deaths of care home residents in all settings, not just in care homes.

       A total of 173,525 deaths have occurred in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, the ONS said.