Figure comparing arena capacity to Covid-19 deaths needs context

We’ve seen a number of posts on Facebook that suggest the number of people in the UK who have died from Covid-19 is 20,319 and that this is almost enough people to fill the Manchester Arena.

This correctly reports the government’s official figures on the number of people who were hospitalised in the UK, tested positive for coronavirus and have now died. 

The actual number of people who’ve died with the disease will be larger, as deaths outside of NHS services or among people who haven’t been tested are not included. There are separate figures which can shed some light on these, but they aren’t as up-to-date.

The most up-to-date figure at the time of writing shows that as of 5pm on 25 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for the disease, 20,732 have died. As of 5pm the day before, when these posts started circulating, the number stood at 20,319, which is what the viral posts claim.

As the post claims, Manchester Arena’s maximum capacity is only slightly more than this, at 21,000, although the venue’s website says it “holds around 15,500 on a normal concert”. The image in the post does appear to be of Manchester Arena.

It’s important to remember that these deaths are what the government calls Covid-19 associated deaths in hospitals, and we don’t know what exactly these people died of, just that they had tested positive for the disease when they died. The government says that “Deaths of people who have tested positively for COVID-19 could in some cases be due to a different cause.”

The Office for National Statistics releases data weekly on the provisional number of deaths “involving the coronavirus” in England and Wales, which includes breaking down the figures by where they happened (such as hospitals, home, care home, etc).

The post also correctly says that there were 51 days between the first death of a patient who tested positive for Covid-19 in the UK, and the total of 20,319 deaths.