Coronavirus: Further two Shropshire deaths bringing region's hospital death toll to 86
Another two coronavirus patients have died in Shropshire, taking the county's hospital death toll to 86.
Meanwhile the UK-wide death toll today increased by 586 to 21,678.
The latest Shropshire deaths to be confirmed were at Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.
It means that the total number of coronavirus deaths at the county's major health trusts has now reached 86, while over in Powys seven people have died with the virus in hospital.
The number of patients to have died and tested positive for Covid-19 at SaTH is 79.
Four other patients have died in the care of Shropshire Community Health Trust and three at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital near Oswestry.
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Across hospitals in England, a further 552 coronavirus patients have died. It brings the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 19,301.
The latest patients reported to have died were aged between 31 and 99, with 38 of them having no known underlying health condition.
A further 17 people have died after contracting coronavirus in Wales, raising the toll to 813.
It comes as new statistics reveal the scale of coronavirus deaths in care homes, with Shropshire suffering almost as many coronavirus deaths outside of hospital as inside during a two-week period.
NHS officials said fewer than 20 children in England have been admitted to hospital with the syndrome, which causes a toxic shock-style inflammatory reaction.
They said there were currently no confirmed deaths related to the syndrome.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said experts were continuing to investigate the disease “with great urgency”.
He said: “It’s a fresh, new disease that we think may be caused by coronavirus and the Covid-19 virus. We’re not 100 per cent sure because some of the people who got it hadn’t tested positive.
“We’re doing a lot of research now but it is something we’re worried about.
“What I would also stress is that it is rare. Although it is very significant for those children who do get it, the number of cases is small.”
The condition is said to be similar to Kawasaki disease, which mainly affects children under the age of five, with symptoms including a high temperature for five days or more, rashes and swollen glands in the neck.
In an Ipsos Mori poll of more than 28,000 people in 14 countries, Britons were the least likely to believe restarting the economy was the right approach as ministers face continued questions over the UK’s plan for lifting its coronavirus lockdown.
Britons had the strongest views against opening up the economy if the virus is not fully under control, with 70 per cent of those surveyed saying they felt this way.
The same 70 per cent figure of disapproval was noted in Canada, while similar sentiments were recorded in Mexico at 65 per cent, Spain and Australia at 61 per cent and the United States at 59 per cent.
It comes as a number of British businesses have said they are set to start opening despite the coronavirus lockdown.
It comes as Labour has said workers “should not put their lives at risk” because they haven’t got the right protective equipment.
It comes as the death toll among frontline health and care workers surpassed 100, according to figures from the PA news agency. And the country fell silent for one minute to remember key workers who have died during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sir Keir Starmer said “too many” frontline workers have died during the fight against coronavirus “and we owe them a huge debt”.
