#Flu and pneumonia kill five times more in UK than COVID-19: reports

Enlarge Image

A member of clinical staff walks past signage outside University College Hospital in London.
Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images

Flu and pneumonia are currently killing five times as many people in the UK as the coronavirus — while ongoing lockdowns have caused the worst recession there since records began, according to reports.

In the final week of July, there were 193 reported deaths blaming coronavirus — compared to 928 people who died of flu or pneumonia in the same period, according to The Times of London.

It was the seventh consecutive week in which flu or pneumonia proved more fatal than COVID-19, the report said, citing figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The difference may actually be even greater, because the data counts anyone who has ever tested positive as a coronavirus death no matter what actually killed them, The UK Times noted.

It also comes at a time when flu deaths are down compared to most years, potentially because of masks and social distancing, the outlet said.

As the death rate continues to fall, so too does the economy — with the UK suffering the deepest recession among the world’s top economies this year, shrinking by a fifth in the second quarter alone.

The 20.4% quarterly drop is the worst since records began in 1955, the ONS said — with fears that unemployment could more than double to 3 million, a depressing figure not seen since the 1980s.

“I’ve said before that hard times were ahead, and today’s figures confirm that hard times are here,” said Treasury chief Rishi Sunak.

“Hundreds of thousands of people have already lost their jobs, and sadly in the coming months many more will.”

Despite the dire data, some still hope that the economy could heal now that many lockdowns are starting to be lifted, however, especially with the reopening of Britain’s beloved pubs.

“The economy began to bounce back in June with shops reopening, factories beginning to ramp up production and house-building continuing to recover,” statistician Jonathan Athow insisted.

With Post wires