THE number of Covid-19 fatalities at NHS trusts operating hospitals in Cumbria has risen to 70.

According to figures released by NHS England, the number of deaths at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust now stands at 42 people.

The trust manages hospitals in both south Cumbria and in Lancashire - Furness General Hospital in Barrow and Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

The rise in deaths was particularly steep yesterday, having risen from 31 recorded deaths the previous day.

Aaron Cummins, chief executive at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust said: "We can confirm that, sadly, a further 11 patients have died who tested positive for COVID19 while being treated at hospitals in the Trust.

“They were two men and two women in their 80s who died at Furness General Hospital and a man and two women in their 70s, a man and two women in their 80s and a man in his 90s who died at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary. All had underlying health conditions and died in the past two days."

The figure for the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven is now 28.

The UK’s latest daily Covid-19 death toll figure was 684, bringing the country’s total so far to 3,605

On the government’s national ‘dashboard’, Cumbria continues to be one of the places with the highest number of confirmed cases. The figure currently recorded for the county is 512 - the tenth highest concentration of positive Covid-19 tests in the country. The highest concentration is in Birmingham.