A SMALL number of Barrow firefighters have tested positive for coronavirus, it has been revealed.

Cumbria County Council confirmed the outbreak and said the correct procedures are being adhered to and that there was no further risk of transmission.

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: “There have been a small number of cases at Barrow Fire Station.

“There is no risk of further transmission – they are self-isolating at home, off duty and will not be coming to work until they have completed isolation and had a negative test.”

The news comes after two new coronavirus deaths were been recorded at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Trust in the latest 24-hour period, which was issued by the latest official figures.

NHS England figures showed 189 people had died in hospital at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust as of 5pm on Monday (October 12).

That was an increase of two compared to Sunday, when there were 187.

It means there have been five deaths in the past week, down from nine the previous week.

The victims were among 5,296 deaths recorded across the North West, which is the third-worst affected of England’s seven NHS regions after London and the midlands.

Of 28 trusts within the region, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay trust has the 16th-highest death toll.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death.

This means some of the deaths that were first recorded in the latest period may actually have taken place days earlier.

NHS England guidance states: “Confirmation of Covid-19 diagnosis, death notification and reporting in central figures can take up to several days and the hospitals providing the data are under significant operational pressure.”

Only deaths that occur in hospitals where the patient has tested positive for Covid-19 are recorded, with deaths in the community excluded, such as those in care homes.