A TOTAL of nine more deaths due to COVID-19 have been reported by Cumbria’s two hospital trusts.

The figures included another death at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT).

The total deaths in Cumbria due to coronavirus now stands at 134, which includes 76 at UHMBT - which runs the Furness General Hospital in Barrow, the Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal and Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

Eight more deaths have been confirmed in the North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust (NCIC) which runs Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary and the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven.

According to a statement from the Department for Health yesterday, 765 people who tested positive for the coronavirus died over the previous 24 hours bringing the total confirmed reported deaths in hospitals across England to 7,248.The statement said: “Patients were aged between 24 and 103 years old, 43 of the 765 patients - aged between 33 and 99 years old - had no known underlying health conditions.”

It said that 140 of them occurred yesterday, while 568 took place between April 1 and April 7. The remaining 57 deaths took place in March.

Meanwhile, a report showed that Cumbria has the highest prevalence of coronavirus cases in England outside London with 161 cases per 100,000 people as of April 7. This came as local government association figures showed the county has a high concentration of virus cases per head compared with other single tier and county councils.