Four new coronavirus deaths at Bedford Hospital Trust

The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Bedford is 436
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There have been four new coronavirus deaths recorded at the Bedford Hospital Trust in the past 24 hours, the latest official figures show.

NHS England figures show 115 people had died in hospital at the Bedford Hospital NHS Trust as of 5pm on Wednesday, April 29.

That was an increase of four compared to Tuesday, when there were 111.

CoronavirusCoronavirus
Coronavirus

A week ago, there were 92 deaths. The victims were among 2,311 deaths recorded across the East of England.

Of 23 trusts within the region, the Bedford Hospital trust has the ninth highest death toll.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that in Bedford, 56 deaths involving Covid-19 were provisionally registered up to April 25 – up from 24 the week before.

This only includes deaths that occurred up to April 17 which were registered up to eight days later. Of those, five occurred in care homes and three at private homes.

In the previous week, two Covid-19 deaths had been recorded in care homes.

It means at least eight Covid-19-related deaths in Bedford would have been excluded from official estimates up to April 25 – equating to 14 per cent of the total figure from the ONS.

This is because ONS figures include all mentions of Covid-19 on a death certificate, including suspected cases, as well as deaths in the community, whereas the main government figures are based on the deaths of hospital patients who tested positive for the virus.

Of 23 trusts within the region, the Bedford Hospital trust has the ninth highest death toll.

The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Bedford is 436, in Central Bedfordshire there are 471 confirmed cases and in Luton there are 595, according to Public Health England.

But the true number of cases is thought to be far higher with many people not being tested.

Nationally, the number of coronavirus cases now stands at 171,253 (includes tests carried out by commercial partners which are not included in the country totals), rising by 6,032. The number of COVID-19 associated UK deaths has been recorded as 26,771, rising by 674 - according to Public Health England.