There were 29,648 deaths which involved coronavirus up to April 24 in England and Wales, compared to the Government’s daily figures of 27,173 at the same stage.

According to Office of National Statistics, there have also been 18 deaths from coronavirus in East Devon for the same time period.

The provisional number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending 24 April, 2020, was 21,997; a decrease of 354 deaths registered compared with the previous week but is 11,539 more than the five-year average.

This is the second-highest weekly death total since 1970.

Of the deaths registered in Week 17, 8,237 mentioned ‘novel coronavirus (COVID-19)’, which is 37.4 per cent of all deaths; this is a decrease of 521 deaths compared with Week 16.

The number of overall deaths in care homes for Week 17 was 7,911; this is 595 higher than Week 16, an increase of 8.1per cent.

In Week 17, the proportion of deaths in care homes involving COVID-19 was 35.3% (2,794 deaths).