Coronavirus: 19 more deaths in Black Country, Staffordshire and Birmingham
A further 19 coronavirus patients have died in hospitals in the Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire.
The figures announced on Thursday mean the death toll in the region's hospitals is now at 2,040.
Across the UK the latest figures from the Department of Health show that a total of 30,615 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus, up by 539 on yesterday.
However the combination of NHS and Office for National Statistics (ONS) data suggests the overall death toll for the UK has now actually passed 36,000.
Meanwhile, 22,432 have died in hospitals in England, up from 383 yesterday.
Among the deaths announced in hospitals on Thursday were eight at the University Hospitals of North Midlands Trust, which runs Stafford’s County Hospital and Royal Stoke University Hospital, bringing the total to 231.
Two more deaths were confirmed at the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, which runs Sandwell and City hospitals, meaning the latest death toll at the trust is 303.
One more death was confirmed at the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Russells Hall Hospital, where the increased to 230.
No new deaths were confirmed at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, where the total remains 247, or at the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, where the total remains at 177.
A total of eight more people have been confirmed to have died at the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, taking the total to 806. The trust runs Queen Elizabeth, Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull hospitals.
And four new deaths were announced in Worcestershire, where the total deaths at the county's hospitals has risen to 242.
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As well as including patients who tested positive for the disease, the hospital statistics now also include patients who died in hospital and hadn't tested positive but for whom Covid-19 is documented as a direct or underlying cause of death on their death certificate.
This included three deaths in the Midlands – but it not known where in the Midlands these deaths took place.
A spokesman for NHS England said: "A further 383 people, who tested positive for coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 22,432.
"Patients were aged between 28 and 100 years old. Of those, 41 of the 383 patients – aged between 28 and 96 years old – had no known underlying health condition.
"Their families have been informed."
Some deaths are not included in the England hospital deaths statistics for several days due to testing or family members being informed. Thursday’s figures included patients who died between March 19 and May 6.
Meanwhile new analysis shows black men and women are more than four times more likely to die a coronavirus-related death than white people.
Black males in England and Wales are 4.2 times more likely, while black women are 4.3 times more likely to die after contracting the virus, after accounting for age.
People of Bangladeshi and Pakistani, Indian, and mixed ethnicities also had an increased risk of death involving Covid-19 compared with those of white ethnicity, the Office for National Statistics found.
And Boris Johnson is due to reveal details of the Government’s “road map” for easing the UK lockdown on Sunday, some of which may begin as early as next week.
While the aim is to get the economy back up and running, it is likely that social distancing measures will remain in place for some time.
