Further deaths from Covid-19 recorded within Morecambe Bay hospitals

The deaths follow three previous deaths recorded in July, bringing the total number at hospitals run by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust (UHMBT) to 590.

In recent months, there had been just one death recorded in both April and May, and none in June.

The deaths are recorded when someone has died after testing positive for coronavirus within the last 28 days at UHMBT hospitals, with the numbers roughly split between the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Furness General Hospital in Barrow.

The number of people in trust hospitals being treated for Covid-19 is also increasing; as of Tuesday July 20, there were 43 patients, three of which were on a ventilator.

Since the start of the pandemic, as of Sunday July 18, UHMBT has treated 2,136 people for the virus.

In the Lancaster City Council region itself, the total number of deaths within 28 days of first positive test result for Covid-19 reported up to Tuesday July 27 is 289 - an increase of four on a week earlier.

The total number of deaths where Covid-19 is mentioned as a cause on the death certificate, registered up to Friday July 16 is 330.

The total number of people with a positive Covid-19 virus test (either lab-reported or lateral flow device) reported up to Tuesday July 27 in the Lancaster region is 13,163.

Of those, 495 people in Lancaster reported positive Covid tests in the seven days up to July 27 (a decrease of 361 or 42.2 per cent on the previous week) - and the city currently has an infection rate of 594 based on a rolling seven-day period up to July 19, up from 435 a week earlier.

This is based on the number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, and compares with an England average of 544.