ANOTHER four people have died at Furness General Hospital (FGH) after contracting Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The healthcare trust that runs FGH, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT), announced five further COVID-19 deaths yesterday.

Four new COVID-19 deaths were reported, meanwhile, at hospitals run by the North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust.

Those eight deaths in Cumbria formed part of a total of 561 recorded in England yesterday, taking the national death toll to 2,698.

Almost 3,000 have now died from COVID-19 in the UK, with almost 34,000 confirmed cases - a rise of over 4,000 on the previous day.

NHS England said that patients were aged between 22 and 100 years old. 44 of the 561 patients (aged between 25 and 100 years old) had no known underlying health condition.

Aaron Cummins, Chief Executive at UHMBT, said: "We can confirm that, sadly, a further five patients have died who tested positive for COVID19 while being treated at hospitals in the Trust.

“They were a man in his 60s, a man in his 70s and two men in their 80s who died at Furness General Hospital and a man in his 70s who died at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

"All had underlying health conditions and died in the past two days.

"Our thoughts and condolences remain with the patients’ family and loved ones and we would ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."