The death rate of patients admitted to intensive care with Covid-19 now stands at more than 51 per cent, according to a study of critical care outcomes.
The figure comes from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) and is based on a sample of 3,883 coronavirus patients.
The study shows that out of 1,689 patients in the sample whose care outcome was known, 871 died (51.6 per cent), while 818 were discharged.
In comparison, just 22 per cent out of 5,367 patients taken into critical care with non-Covid-19 viral pneumonia died between 2017 and 2019.
The shocking figures come as officials recorded another 980 deaths in the home nations, taking the UK’s spiralling victim count to 8,958.
The death rate of patients admitted to intensive care with Covid-19 now stands at more than 51 per cent, according to a study of critical care outcomes. Pictured: Paramedics drop off wear masks as they drop off a patient at The Royal London hospital earlier this month
According to the new study, the data shows that: ‘Of the 3,883 patients, 871 patients have died, 818 patients have been discharged alive from critical care and 2,194 patients were last reported as still receiving critical care.’
The coronavirus figures come from 284 NHS critical care units in England, Wales and Northern Ireland taking part in an ICNARC programme as of 4pm on April 9.
The mortality rate is currently higher for men and increases with age, the data shows.
Of the 871 people who died, 53.6 per cent were male, while 46.3 per cent were women.
Meanwhile, the largest number of deaths were among those aged between 70-79 at 298, followed by the 60-69 age group, with 273 reported.
Thirty-one patients died aged between 16-39, 46 were 40-49 and 145 were 50-59. A total of 78 patients died aged over 80.
The average (mean) age of those admitted to intensive care with coronavirus was 59.8 years, with 72.5 per cent of patients recorded as male.
Some 2,291 (59 per cent) patients in critical care had to be mechanically ventilated in the first 24 hours, the study revealed.
The largest number of Covid-19 patients remains in London, with 1,428 being managed by the three London Operational Delivery Networks – the system of co-ordinating patient care across the capital.
Previous figures from April 3, recorded the death rate as being at 50.1 per cent.
The study shows that out of 1,689 patients in the sample whose care outcome was known, 871 died (51.6 per cent), while 818 were discharged. Pictured: Police on guard outside St Thomas’s Hospital in London, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent three nights in intensive care with coronavirus
Critical care units involved in the initiative are asked to notify ICNARC as soon as they have an admission with Covid-19 and provide data at different points of their treatment.
The figures came as Britain suffered another grim day in its coronavirus crisis.
A further 5,706 people have been diagnosed with the disease in the past 24 hours, meaning a total of 70,783 have now tested positive.
Officials managed a record 19,116 tests yesterday, a marked increase in its daily effort from 10,713 on Thursday.
A total of 980 deaths made Friday the worst day on record for hospitals in any country in Europe, with the previous high 950 in Spain on April 3.
France, however, is recording higher death tolls – up to 2,000 in a day – because it is routinely recording deaths that happen in care homes as well as hospitals, something most nations aren’t doing.
England recorded 866 new fatalities among infected patients in hospital, while another 114 were confirmed in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
