DEATHS from Covid have jumped 21 per cent in a week, new data has revealed.
Despite the increase, infections have started to level off as the latest wave of the bug has 'peaked'.
Levels of the virus still remain well below those seen in the early part of the pandemic.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that in the week ending October 21, there were 687 deaths involving Covid.
This is up from 565 deaths in the week ending October 14.
Of the 687, experts say 469 had the bug recorded as the underlying cause of death.
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It's important to note that there is a lag in data, and these figures won't represent the current deaths being recorded across the country.
The ONS states that it's too early to say if there has been a turning point in infections.
Data on deaths lags behind infections due to how long it takes for someone with the bug to fall seriously ill.
Infections are currently falling – but one expert this week said that there could be a larger wave in January.
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But Professor Karl Friston of UCL told The Sunday Telegraph the "morbidity and mortality of a large post-Christmas wave should be substantially less than previous years."
Professor Friston said: "It looks as if the current peak has passed and the long-term forecast suggests a subsequent peak after Christmas.
"This appears to be largely driven by seasonal fluctuations in transmission risk and a slower underlying increase, due to the emergence of new variants."
Separate figures hint that deaths will have fallen, as infections have started to plummet across the country.
The latest data on infections from the ONS shows that cases are beginning to level off in the UK as the autumn virus wave fades.
The number of people testing positive rose by just 40,000 to 2.05million – a mere 2 per cent rise.
Meanwhile, more recent data showed the number of hospitalisations is also down by 16 per cent.
It shows the latest Covid surge is dying, having caused less damage than any previous wave.
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During the previous wave of infections in the summer, deaths peaked at 810 in the week ending July 29.
This was well below the numbers seen during the early waves of the pandemic, when weekly deaths peaked around 10 times this level.
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