No new coronavirus deaths at Bedford Hospital

No new deaths from coronavirus have been recorded at the Bedford Hospital Trust over the past 24 hours, latest official figures show.

NHS England figures show 115 people had died in hospital at Bedford Hospital NHS Trust as of 5pm on Thursday – the same number as on Wednesday.

A week ago, there had been 95 deaths recorded.

The victims were among 2,346 deaths recorded across the East of England.

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

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death.

This means some of the deaths that were first recorded in the last 24 hours may actually have taken place days earlier.

NHS England guidance states: "Confirmation of Covid-19 diagnosis, death notification and reporting in central figures can take up to several days and the hospitals providing the data are under significant operational pressure."

Only deaths that occur in hospitals where the patient has tested positive for Covid-19 are recorded, with deaths in the community excluded, such as those in care homes.

Across England, the death toll hit 20,483 on Thursday, up from 20,131 on Wednesday.

Separate figures from the Department of Health and Social Care show 171,253 people had tested positive for Covid-19 across the UK as of 9am on Thursday, up from 165,221.