Three more Shropshire coronavirus patients die as county hospital death toll reaches 111
Three more patients have died at hospitals in Shropshire after testing positive for coronavirus.
They were all being cared for by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), according to the latest figures from NHS England.
The number of people who have died in the county's hospitals after contracting the virus now stands at 111.
Meanwhile the UK death toll provided by the Department of Health, which includes hospitals, care homes and the wider community, increased by 649 to 30,076 today.
In Shropshire there have been 99 deaths at SaTH, which runs Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford's Princess Royal Hospital.
Seven patients with coronavirus have died at Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust and five patients have died at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, near Oswestry.
Latest figures from NHS England show a further 331 people with coronavirus have died in the country's hospitals, bringing the total number of hospital deaths in England to 22,049.
Patients were aged between 32 and 102 years old, 17 of which had no known underlying health condition.
Meanwhile a further 21 deaths of Covid-19 patients have been reported to Public Health Wales, bringing the total in the country to 1,044. Nine of the deaths have been in Powys.
At his first Prime Minister’s Questions since his recovery from coronavirus and the birth of his son Wilfred, Mr Johnson said his “ambition” was for the new testing goal to be met by the end of the month.
His Commons appearance came ahead of a speech on Sunday where he is expected to set out plans for easing the lockdown as ministers hinted that cafes may be able to reopen in the summer months if they can provide outdoor facilities.
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The Prime Minister suggested some of the measures he announces on Sunday could be implemented as soon as the next day.
The route out of lockdown will rely on a test, track and trace programme to quickly identify new cases of coronavirus and prevent the further spread of the infection.
Ministers said they would postpone the tri-annual revaluation, which determines how much each business pays, because of the coronavirus lockdown shutting businesses.
With high streets closed across the country, retailers were concerned that the revaluation by HM Revenue and Customs officials from April 2019 is now wildly out of date.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick MP said: “We have listened to businesses and their concerns about the timing of the 2021 business rates revaluation and have acted to end that uncertainty by postponing the change.
“Now is the time for us to continue to focus on supporting businesses affected by the pandemic, including through our unprecedented package of almost £10 billion in business rates relief.”
Money has been used for a range of causes, including buying tablet computers so people in hospital can see their loved ones virtually, and to set up “wobble rooms” where staff can take a much-needed break during long shifts.
NHS Charities Together, the umbrella organisation bringing together all the official charities of the health service, has raised the funds in the past six weeks through corporate and private donations as well as from members of the public.
Alongside fun runs, charity singles and virtual quizzes, fundraising given a huge boost by 100-year-old military veteran Capt Tom, who raised more than £30 million by walking 100 laps of his garden.
So far £20 million of the total raised has been distributed to member charities across the UK.
