Coronavirus: Two more deaths in Shropshire - bringing county's hospital death toll to 93

NHS England said one patient had died at Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), and another at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital near Oswestry.

It means that 93 patients have now died with the virus at the county's major health trusts since the outbreak began – 84 at SaTH, five at Shropshire Community Health Trust, and four at the orthopaedic hospital.

Another 36 people have also died and tested positive for Covid-19 in the county's care homes between April 10 and 24.

Two more patients have also been confirmed as dying in the care of Powys Teaching Local Health Board – taking the total in the county to nine.

Positive tests continue to increase in Powys too with another three taking the total to 169.

A further 674 patients had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, up from 26,097 the day before.

The news comes as the NSPCC has said reports from adults concerned about child abuse have increased by almost a fifth during the coronavirus lock down.

Its helpline received 2,216 calls about children facing neglect, physical and emotional abuse in the first four weeks of the lock down. This compares with 1,867 calls made in the four weeks prior.

Lockdown measures are likely to be “intensifying abuse and increasing the impact it has on children who can’t escape it”, the child protection charity said.

In particular, concerns around children receiving emotional abuse such as threats and verbal abuse have increased by 50 per cent, with 792 made up to April 19. They now make up a fifth of calls since the lockdown began.

And calls about suspected neglect are up 4 per cent, with a 9 per cent rise for suspected physical abuse.

It comes as retail leaders have told MPs that a fifth of high street stores plan to stay closed permanently after the coronavirus lock down unwinds.

Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association, told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee it has been the “worst time ever for retail” after the pandemic hit the UK.

He said 20 per cent of retailers surveyed by the trade body claimed they do not intend to reopen after the lock down.

Mr Goodacre added: “For those even saying they would look to reopen, there is a huge caveat about the level of trade on whether they would continue to reopen.

“If the footfall is impacted and social distancing exists and they find it hard to meet needs of customers and workers, it would be more expensive to reopen than to stay closed.”

Meanwhile, more than 9,000 fines have been handed to people in England and Wales for allegedly flouting Covid-19 lockdown laws, according to new figures.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said 8,877 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) have been recorded by forces in England between March 27 and April 27, while 299 were issued in Wales over the same period.

Some 397 were for repeat offenders, with one person fined six times.

And finally, Captain Tom Moore has been sent congratulatory messages from both the Queen and the Prime Minster as he celebrates turning 100.

Others to wish him well included Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan, singer Michael Ball, and presenter Paddy McGuinness.