What was claimed
The highest weekly Covid deaths in the UK was 652.
Our verdict
This is incorrect. The most deaths with Covid-19 mentioned in the death certificate during a seven-day period in the UK was 9,739 in the week ending 22 January 2021.
UK’s worst week for Covid-19 deaths far worse than viral post claims
16 May 2023
Several posts on Facebook claim that “the highest weekly Covid deaths in the UK was 652”.
This is not true.
The most people to die with Covid-19 mentioned on their death certificate in a single seven-day period in the UK was 9,739, based on date of death, in the week ending 22 January 2021.
All these deaths involved Covid, and the disease was the underlying cause for most of them. In England and Wales, of the Covid deaths registered (but not necessarily occurring) in the week ending 22 January 2021, just over 90% had Covid as the underlying cause.
The incorrect figure seems to come from a viral tweet that has since been deleted by the author, who now says it was wrong.
At least 652 people have died with Covid mentioned on their death certificate in many weeks since the pandemic started, including several weeks this year.
We’ve seen many false claims about the scale of the pandemic, which often seriously understate the number of people who died, or the severity of Covid-19. We have seen claims that overstated the seriousness of the disease as well.
Image courtesy of Vladimir Fedotov
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because 9,739 people died with Covid in the UK’s worst week—not 652.