No new coronavirus deaths at hospitals in Shropshire

A total of 187 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died at the county's hospitals since the outbreak began.

So far 167 people have died with the virus at Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust, 15 have died at Shropshire Community Health Trust and five have died at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital near Oswestry.

An additional 140 people have died with coronavirus in care homes in the county, with 95 deaths in the Shropshire Council area and 45 in Telford & Wrekin.

A further 38 people with coronavirus have died in hospitals in England, NHS England confirmed today.

It brings the total number of confirmed deaths in hospitals in England to 29,051.

One new coronavirus-related death was confirmed by Public Health Wales today, bringing the total number of hospital deaths in the country to 1,541.

So far 92 people have died with the virus in Powys, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The latest UK-wide death toll released by the Government, which includes deaths in and out of hospitals, went up by 148 to 44,798 on Saturday.

Meanwhile scientists have cautiously welcomed Boris Johnson’s suggestion that face coverings may become mandatory in shops in England.

The Prime Minister said on Friday that he wanted to be “stricter” on insisting people wear coverings in confined spaces where they are meeting people they do not normally see.

Face coverings are currently compulsory on public transport and in hospitals in England, but are now mandatory in shops in Scotland.

The UK Government insisted early on in the pandemic that masks were not necessary for use by the general public when out and about.

But the PM signalled a shift in policy during an online question and answer session with the public on Friday afternoon.