The number of weekly registered deaths involving coronavirus in England and Wales has fallen for the first time since Christmas, new data shows.

There were 7,320 deaths registered in the week ending February 5 where “novel coronavirus” was mentioned on the death certificate, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

This is a fall of 1,113 deaths (13.1%) compared with the previous week.

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The last time deaths fell was the week ending December 25, which included one bank holiday which likely had an impact on registrations.

Coronavirus accounted for 42.6% of the overall deaths registered during the seven days, which also fell from the previous week.

All regions in England and Wales saw a decrease in the number of deaths involving Covid compared to the previous week, but still have an overall higher number of deaths compared to the average for this time over the past five years.