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The number of people killed by coronavirus in London in the four weeks to 24 April was significantly higher than the number of civilians killed during the worst four-week period of aerial bombing of the city during the Blitz in World War Two.
Registered deaths in London attributed to Covid-19, in the four weeks to 24 April this year, reached 5,901 according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Figures held in the National Archives, and collated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, show that 4,677 people were killed during the Blitz and buried in London cemeteries in the 28 days to 4 October 1940.
"These are the best figures available for the civilian deaths in the Blitz," said Richard Overy, professor of history at the University of Exeter.
"This dramatic war on civilians has come to symbolise the horrors of total war, with the images of burning and ruined buildings and bodies dug out from the rubble."
"All the more poignant is the contrast with the current epidemic which has killed considerably more people in 28 days in London's hospitals and care homes."
Registered deaths from all causes
Driven by the coronavirus outbreak, London has also suffered its highest number of registered deaths from all causes over a four week period for more than half a century, the ONS data shows.
There were 2,785 deaths from all causes registered in the capital in the week ending 24 April, but that is down from 3,275 deaths the previous week.
In many other regions of England and Wales registered deaths in the week to 24 April have also fallen compared to the previous week, but they rose higher in the South East, the South West, the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber.
Every region has recently registered its highest number of weekly deaths on record, outside the winter months.
In London deaths registered in the week to 17 April were at the highest weekly level since a bad flu outbreak in January 1968, and the ONS says over half of all death certificates in the two weeks to 24 April mention Covid-19.
Normally the number of deaths at this time of year is substantially lower than at the height of flu season in the winter.
The numbers in London this month, in particular, are unprecedented for April.
Professor Sally Sheard, Head of Public Health and Policy at the University of Liverpool, says it is not surprising that London has borne the brunt of the pandemic.
"There are similarities with how the 1918, 1957 and 1968 influenza pandemics moved through British communities, with urban areas again showing the biggest impact," she says. "This reflects issues such as overcrowded housing and international travel patterns."
"But the current urban focus of Covid-19 also reflects the more recent growth of the gig economy, in which people have multiple places of work and sites of interaction."
England and Wales
The BBC has examined ONS and other government data for deaths in London going back to the 1940s, and data for the rest of England and Wales going back to 1993.
The ONS data is released weekly and records deaths in the community as well as deaths in hospital, so it paints a more comprehensive picture than the daily figures released by the Department of Health and Social Care (which, until 29 April, focused on deaths in hospital).
And the table above shows that registered deaths in every region of England and Wales over the two weeks to 24 April are far higher than the average for those weeks.
Covid-19 is obviously the main reason for this, and it has affected some areas far more than others.
Further ONS data released on 1 May shows that, once you take the age of population into account, the rate of deaths involving Covid-19 is roughly twice as high in the most deprived areas of England and Wales as in the least deprived.
"We know that people in more deprived areas are less likely to have jobs where they can work from home," said Helen Barnard from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
"This means they may have to face a very significant drop in income or keep going to work, facing greater risks of catching virus. They are also more likely to live in overcrowded homes, increasing the risk for whole families."
The data shows that the highest rates of deaths involving Covid-19 are in inner-city areas where lots of people live close together.
All of the highest age-standardised mortality rates are in London boroughs, such as Newham, Brent and Hackney.
'Too early to tell'
But one of the biggest issues for policymakers over the coming weeks will be to try to establish what other factors maybe causing the current surge in excess deaths.
Further deaths from Covid-19 will continue to happen around the country despite the lockdown.
But it will also be vital to establish how many deaths may be happening because of the lockdown, if people are not getting the treatment or support they need for other health conditions.
Other nations' figures
National Records Scotland releases figures on a slightly different timescale. In the week to 26 April, there were 1,830 deaths registered in Scotland. That's 68% higher than the five-year average for this week, of 1,087. Around a third of the death certificates mentioned Covid-19.
The Glasgow area has been by far the worst hit by the virus.
In Northern Ireland for the week ending 24 April there were 470 deaths registered, up from the five-year average of 284. Covid-19 was mentioned on 128 death certificates.
This piece has been updated to reflect the latest statistics.
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