Researchers in the study said reporting delays could have played a factor in the findings, but added the difference in numbers were likely due to shortfalls in clinical staffing, capacity, and experience at weekends.
The UK had on average 239 weekend deaths compared to 215 on weekdays, according to the studyCOVID deaths during the pandemic have been higher on weekends compared to weekdays, a global study has found.
Experts from the University of Toronto in Canada analysed all deaths reported to the World Health Organisation COVID-19 database between 7 March 2020 and 7 March 2022. The researchers said the average number of global deaths from coronavirus were 6% higher on weekends compared to weekdays - 8,532 compared to 8,083 - throughout the pandemic.NHS tracker postcode search: See how your local trust is performing through the year
The findings, which will be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases event in Portugal later this month, suggest the UK had on average 239 weekend deaths compared to 215 on weekdays, which is an 11% increase.The US had on average 1,483 weekend deaths compared to 1,220 on weekdays, a 22% increase, and Brazil had an average of 1,061 weekend deaths compared to 823 on weekdays, a 29% increase.
Further analysis that looked at the average number of COVID deaths on individual days of the week found the increase was particularly big when comparing Sunday to Monday - 8,850 compared to 7,219 deaths - and Friday to Monday - 9,086 compared to 7,219.