Coronavirus has claimed more than 9,000 Londoners lives

More than 9,000 Londoners have died as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, new research revealed.

Public Health England found there had been 9,349 “excess deaths” – the number above the average from previous years – in the capital between March 20 and the end of July.

Of these, 8,502 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, meaning 847 people more than normal died from other causes, probably as a result of failing to seek medical care, or where coronavirus was not diagnosed or reported.

The report revealed that a total of 26,902 deaths were registered in London between the start of the pandemic and the end of last month.

Of these, 17,553 deaths were expected – meaning 9,349 were classed as “excess”.

Barnet and Croydon, the two biggest boroughs, recorded most excess deaths, at 505 and 503 respectively.

But the study found that the more ethnically diverse boroughs of Harrow, Brent and Newham – which is trialling the new NHS covid tracker app – were disproportionately worse hit.