Re: COVIDD-19 'Pandemic'
The UK now has the highest death toll in Europe, overtaking Italy.
The latest daily reported death total for the UK (29,427) is now higher than the total for Italy (29,315).
However, the UK has a larger population than Italy and (taking Russia out of the equation, which isn't wholly in Europe) has the second-largest population in Europe after Germany:
This is a sobering moment.
Italy was the first part of Europe to see cases rise rapidly and the scenes of hospitals being overwhelmed were met with shock and disbelief.
But we should be careful how we interpret the figures.
On the face of it both countries now count deaths in a similar way, including both in hospitals and the community. But there are other factors to consider.
First the UK has a slightly larger population. If you count cases per head of population, Italy still comes out worse - although only just.
Cases are confirmed by tests - and the amount of testing carried out varies.
The geographical spread looks quite different too - half of the deaths in Italy have happened in Lombardy.
In the UK, by comparison, they have been much more spread out.
Less than a fifth have happened in London, which has a similar population to Lombardy.
Then, how do you factor in the indirect impact from things such as people not getting care for other conditions?
The fairest way to judge the impact in terms of fatalities is to look at excess mortality - the numbers dying above what would normally happen.
You need to do this over time. It will be months, perhaps even years, before we can really say who has the highest death toll.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-52539905
