THERE has been one new death from coronavirus in Morecambe Bay hospitals - as new cases were recorded in the area.

Figures provided by Public Health England showed one patient at hospitals in the Bay died on Saturday having tested positive for the virus.

A total of 283 have now died after contracting the virus at sites in the trust, which include Furness General Hospital, Westmorland General Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

The latest figures show that Barrow had eight new cases of the virus over the weekend.

Data showed Barrow a total of 119 new cases of Covid-19 over the last seven days, according to the latest data.

It gives the area an infection rate of 177.5 per 100,000 people.

Cumbria's director of public health said last week that Barrow remained an area of 'concern'. Colin Cox urged people to stick to the current lockdown rules and described it as a 'critical time' The cross-Cumbria numbers indicated the county's infection rate was beginning to stabilise. All districts remain below the national average of 274 infections per 100,000 people. However, Cumbria County Council (CCC) announced today that Barrow and South Lakeland had seen worrying increases in the numbers of new cases across the previous week - with 32 and 42 per cent rises respectively.

Mr Cox said: "While we are below the England average, by any normal measure the infection rate is still high and I really urge everyone in the county to stick to the current rules and do all you can to avoid unnecessary social contact, keep your distance, cover your face and keep washing hands. "If we do, then we can reduce the pressure on our hospitals and give ourselves the best chance of restrictions being loosened in time for Christmas. "This really is a critical time.”