The Board of Deputies has issued its last regular update on Jewish Covid deaths, reporting that there four Covid-related burials in the week ending April 1.

Working with burial boards and small communities since the start of the pandemic, it has recorded 1,019 funerals where the deceased had contracted Covid.

The Board said it had to assess at what point maintaining a regular count of Covid deaths contributed to alarmism rather than providing information that helped policy makers.

However, it will continue to monitor Covid mortality, mainly through analysis of “excess deaths”.

Board president Marie van der Zyl said: “The Jewish community has lost more than 1,000 loved ones during this pandemic. It has been a tragedy that has deeply impacted individuals, families, and the community as a whole.

“The time has come to close our Covid mortality reporting - for now at least. I want to thank everyone who supplied information to the Board of Deputies [and] a special thank you to all of our burial societies, who continued to serve the community tirelessly and with professionalism amidst very difficult circumstances.”