AT least five deaths linked to coronavirus in Oxford may not be captured in official estimates, new figures suggest.

The daily death toll has been branded 'inaccurate' for only including people who have died in a hospital after testing positive with the virus.

Office for National Statistics data shows that in Oxford, 16 deaths involving Covid-19 were provisionally registered up to April 10.

Of those, two occurred in care homes and one in a private home.

Another two deaths were in hospices or community buildings.

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ONS figures include all mentions of Covid-19 on a death certificate, including suspected cases and deaths in the community.

The main government figures however have so far been based almost entirely on the deaths of hospital patients who tested positive for the virus.

This means at least five Covid-19-related deaths in Oxford would have been excluded from official estimates up to April 10 – equating to 31per cent of the total figure from the ONS.

The number of people who died of coronavirus in Oxford's hospitals up to April 10 was 11, according to the ONS.

Across England and Wales, there were 1,662 deaths involving Covid-19 registered in the week up to April 10 which occurred outside hospitals, and 8,673 (84per cent) in hospitals.

The overall number of deaths in care home across the two countries doubled from 2,471 to 4,974, between the point the first Covid-19 deaths were registered and the week ending April 10.