Three more coronavirus deaths confirmed in Shropshire hospitals
A further three coronavirus deaths have been confirmed in Shropshire's hospitals, taking the county's overall death toll to at least 215.
NHS England said that two patients had died in the care of Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), and another at Shropshire Community Health Trust.
Sunday's announcement means that a total of 138 people have now died and tested positive for Covid-19 at the county's major health trusts since the outbreak began.
Of the 138 patients, 123 have been in the care of SaTH, 10 the community health trust, and five at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital near Oswestry.
ONS data also shows 77 people have died with coronavirus in Shropshire care homes between April 10 and May 8.
The UK Government figures released on Sunday put the country-wide death toll at 34,636, a daily increase of 170, however analysis of NHS and Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures puts the actual figure at more than 40,000.
In Powys 13 deaths have been confirmed with laboratory tests although the ONS says that 65 people in the county have died with Covid-19.
Across England another 90 people who tested positive for coronavirus were confirmed to have died on Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths to 24,617.
However NHS England said its notification system was not operating throughout Saturday, meaning there are likely to be fewer deaths reported than would otherwise have been the case.
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Patients included in Sunday's statistics were aged between 45 and 100 years old and all but one had underlying health conditions.
The daily figures include Covid-19 patients whose deaths were confirmed in the previous 24 hours, not who died in that period.
Some deaths are not included in the statistics for several days due to testing or family members being informed.
Meanwhile Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has said there are “big lessons” to be learned from the treatment of care homes during the coronavirus outbreak.
Mr Gove said the Government had taken “significant steps” to improve the situation of those in care homes.
However, amid growing criticism that they had failed to provide adequate support to the sector, he acknowledged the situation remained a “challenge”.
Mr Gove also issued a fresh appeal to teaching unions and to councils who have expressed concerns about the Government’s plans to begin reopening schools from next month to think again.
