More than 50,000 people in the UK have now died after contracting coronavirus, according to the respective national statistics offices of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

At least 50,413 people had died, as of late May, with Covid-19 listed on their death certificate, according to England and Wales’ Office for National Statistics (ONS), the National Records of Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
The ONS said 45,748 had died with the virus in England and Wales as of May 29.

A further 3,911 died in Scotland as of May 31, and 754 passed away with the virus in Northern Ireland as of May 29.

The UK has the second highest number of coronavirus deaths globally. Its death toll is surpassed only by the US, which has recorded more than 111,000 fatalities.

This latest data differs from the British government’s official count. The UK’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has reported only 40,680 coronavirus fatalities, which is the number included in the Johns Hopkins University Covid-19 Dashboard.

The discrepancy between the two death tolls is caused by different counting methods. The DHSC only records deaths where the deceased was previously diagnosed with coronavirus, as opposed to the disease being detected post-mortem.

The UK has officially recorded 288,834 cases of coronavirus, the highest case total in Europe.