Thousands of coronavirus deaths ‘will be wiped off the government’s official toll’ after urgent review into counting fiasco that included people who had recovered and died of other causes in the toll

• Public Health England was miscounting coronavirus death, official review found
• Counted victims if they died from any cause months later after beating disease
• Could see up to 4,000 deaths removed from overall death toll, or 10 per cent

By Connor Boyd | 6 August 2020

DAILY MAIL — Thousands of coronavirus deaths are set to be wiped from the government’s official count, it was claimed today.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock last month ordered an urgent review into how daily death counts are calculated in England because of a ‘statistical flaw’.

Academics found Public Health England’s methods meant ministers count victims as anyone who died after ever testing positive for Covid-19 — even if they were hit by a bus after beating the disease months later. […]