54th Shropshire coronavirus death confirmed as UK total passes 13,000
A 54th person has been confirmed to have died in the county's hospitals after contracting Covid-19.
NHS England confirmed that the person had died in the care of Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust – the 52nd patient to die with the virus at the trust since the outbreak began.
They died on Wednesday.
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Two patients have also previously died and tested positive for the virus at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital near Oswestry, taking the total to have died at county hospitals to 54.
Meanwhile the death toll across the UK increased by 861 today to a total of 13,729.
The latest figures show another 740 people have died in English hospitals.
NHS England said that 40 of the 740 patients had no known underlying health condition, the youngest of which was 45.
The true death toll is likely to be far higher due to the daily figures only including deaths in hospital and not elsewhere such as in care homes.
Care home bosses here in Shropshire have urged the Government to speed up its testing of residents and staff amid fears the impact of Covid-19 is being under-reported in the community.
The news came as the Government was expected to announce a three-week extension to the coronavirus lockdown measures and the Nightingale Hospital in Birmingham opened at the NEC.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Boris Johnson will look at ways to recognise the “heroic efforts” of 99-year-old Captain Tom Moore, who has raised more than £13 million for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden.
And with the length of the lockdown still unknown, Shrewsbury Flower Show has been cancelled for the first time since the Second World War.
In other Shrewsbury news, extra patrols are being put on to help keep businesses in the town centre safe while their owners are staying at home.
