UK, Italy, Spain had high 'excess deaths' in first pandemic wave, study finds

FILE PHOTO: Mortuary workers push a coffin containing the body of a deceased person from the mortuary to a hearse at Poppy's Funerals in Lambeth Cemetery, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in London, Britain, May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain, Italy and Spain had the highest rates of so-called "excess deaths" from all causes, including COVID-19, among 21 developed countries during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, an international study has found.

Some 206,000 more people died between mid-February and the end of May in the 21 countries in total than would have been expected to die had the pandemic not taken place - an 18% increase in deaths, scientists who conducted the research said.