THE Coronavirus death toll at the two NHS trusts which run hospitals in the county has now reached 233.

The updated figures, released by NHS England, showed that there had been an increase in deaths at both Cumbrian hospital trusts.

The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Foundation Trust, which runs Furness General Hospital, Westmorland General Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary, reported one death on Sunday, and a further death on Monday.

The number of covid-19 fatalities at the trust now stands at 131.

Meanwhile, the North Cumbria Integrated Care Foundation Trust, which runs The Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, reported four deaths on Sunday, and a further death reported on Monday.

Officials have now formally reported 102 fatalities that have occurred at the trust.

The North East based NHS trust which manages the Carleton Clinic in Carlisle has reported five deaths.

Officials have not said where those patients were being treated.

Nationally, across the whole of the UK, the number of Covid-19 fatalities rose by 873 overnight, to a total of 17,408.

Deaths in England and Wales have hit a 20-year high after almost doubling the number that would usually be expected.

The Office for National Statistics said there were 18,500 deaths in the week up to 10 April - about 8,000 more deaths than is normal at this time of year.

Out of the 18,500 deaths, a third of them were linked to the coronavirus.

Some experts believe that this is indicative that this is the period that the coronavirus deaths peaked.

The daily figures that are presented by the government only show when hospital deaths are announced.

There are often delays in both recording and reporting, which leads to the masking of when a drop in deaths has begun.

In a separate analysis by NHS England, it shows that since April 8, the number of deaths in hospitals have been falling when looking at the date of death.

Deaths from other causes have also increased, which suggests that the lockdown may be having an indirect impact on health.

Another suggestion is that less people are seeking out medical attention for other health conditions in an attempt to stay away from hospitals and avoid coronavirus.

Officials have still not said how many people from within the community and care home residents in Cumbria have died from Covid-19.

NHS England reports deaths in 24 hour blocks, from 5pm to 5pm each day.

Each day NHS England publishes a list of people who have sadly died following a positive coronavirus test before 5pm the previous day.