The ONS announced today that there were 35,401 deaths registered in England in May, which is 9% less than in March, and 10.7% less than the five-year average. As I keep mentioning, however, the best overall measure of mortality isn’t the number of deaths, but rather the age-standardised mortality rate.
In May, the age-standardised mortality rate was 12% lower than in April, and a remarkable 16.7% lower than the five-year average. Like April’s figure, it was the lowest on record for that month. In fact, it was the second-lowest figure on record for any month. (The only lower figure was last August’s age-standardised mortality rate.)
This means that the last two months have both seen recorded-breakingly low levels of mortality. (The ONS’s dataset goes back as far as 2001, and given that mortality has been decreasing more-or-less continuously for the past few decades, April and May’s figures were probably the lowest ever.)
This chart from the ONS shows the age-standardised mortality rate for the first five months of the year, each year, going back to 2001:
Although 2021’s figure was higher than the figure for 2019, it was 2.2% lower than the figure for 2015 and 2.5% lower than the figure for 2018. This means that – despite higher-than-expected mortality in January and February – the overall level of mortality in the first five months of 2021 was actually lower than three years before.
The past three months have “cancelled out” more than 70% of the age-adjusted excess mortality observed in January and February. If June’s age-standardised mortality rate comes in as low as May’s, the overall level of mortality in the first five months of 2021 will be below the five-year average.
Stop Press: MailOnline reports that COVID-19 was the 24th leading cause of death in England in May, and made up fewer than 1% of all fatalities.
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Meanwhile in communist-run UK, Sir Desmond Swayne is properly angry (and rightly so):
“There is much on which we are going to have to reflect!”
“I Could Understand if we were a Communist Party” Desmond Swayne Slams Lockdown and Boris Johnson.
It’s not Communism, it’s Technocratic-Fascism.
People in France still HAVE to wear masks outdoors? What’s the settled science say in France? Lots of people getting infected in parks and walking down sidewalks?
No, it’s complete bollocks, as with anything else in this pack of lies.
I literally have to wear a mask if I walk through the local village, despite the fact that I know for a fact that there won’t be a single person out and about.
Or, alternatively, France is bringing forward the lifting of a nationwide curfew by 10 days amid dire poll ratings for Macron’s LaRem:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1450682/Emmanuel-Macron-France-regional-elections-polls-marine-le-pen-thierry-mariani
France is reducing its restrictions so that they will be broadly in line with what the UK has had for the last month. Very considerate of them.
Mask wearing outside is ended tomorrow. The French have tended to keep mask on in town centres, which I have not and hated, so this is a relief. Now its ’round the chin’ for a lot in shops I think, until this is also removed.
The EU have just put the US on the ‘white list’ which means unvaccinated and normal tourists from the US can now enter the EU and travel normally. I think most countries will probably insist on at least antigen tests in practice, but its at least a positive move. Likely this will be reciprocated soon. Which makes me very happy, I will be able to see my son in Denver and holiday in Florida in October ( fingers crossed).
At the same time the French PM said that up to 50% of people will be fully vaccinated by the end of the summer. I have felt for some time this is the max they can hope for. However it hasn’t stopped the dreadful decision to vaccinate over 12s to try to get the numbers up. Its meeting a lot of resistance, and if 50% of parents are not getting vaccinated then there is some hope it might collapse as a policy.
Slapping Macron works better than nudging obviously.
Who really cares if it works or not? Worth it just for the satisfaction….
We should be grateful for what we got but I do wish the slap had been harder. A lot harder. Knocked him off his feet harder. Bloodied his nose and dislodged teeth harder.
AGREE !!!! Nice Christian thought from me a ‘well brought-up Catholic”
I fear for our French neighbours. Tens of thousands of lives will be lost if people are allowed to walk in the open air without a magic mask. Haven’t they got a scary Ferguson model to prove it?
They should guillotine the unvaccinated: that would reduce transmission.
As long as they disinfect the blade between executions, you wouldn’t want people catching anything.