13 more hospital coronavirus deaths confirmed in Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire
A further 13 coronavirus patients have been confirmed to have died in hospitals across the Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire.
Friday's announcement means 2,053 people have now died with the virus in the region's hospitals since the pandemic began.
This figure does not include deaths in care homes or the wider community, which are not released on a local level on a daily basis.
However statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown that almost as many Covid-19 patients died in the region's care homes as in hospital in the final week of April.
The official UK-wide Government figures released on Friday showed the death toll was up by 626 to 31,241, although the latest combination of ONS and NHS statistics suggests more than 36,000 people have died in the country.
Across England a further 332 patients were announced to have died in hospital on Friday making a new total of 22,764. One of the patients was a six-week-old baby with underlying health conditions.
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Of the 332 new patients confirmed to have died in England, six were in the care of the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, where 812 people have died.
The trust is the region's largest and runs Queen Elizabeth Hospital along with three other hospitals in Birmingham and the Nightingale Hospital at the NEC.
Four more patients were confirmed to have died at the University Hospitals of North Midlands trust, which runs hospitals in Stoke and Stafford, where the death toll stands at 235.
Two further deaths were reported at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton and Cannock Chase Hospital, taking the death toll there to 249.
And one more death was announced at the Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which runs mental health and community health services across Staffordshire.
Meanwhile in Worcestershire one more death death was confirmed at the Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, bringing the death toll in the county's hospitals to 243.
No new deaths were reported at Walsall Manor, where 177 patients have died, or at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley where 230 patients have died.
Likewise no new deaths were announced at the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs City Hospital in Birmingham and Sandwell General in West Bromwich. The trust has the second-highest death toll in the region with 303 patients having died with the virus since the pandemic began.
The daily figures include Covid-19 patients whose deaths were confirmed in the previous 24 hours, not who died in that period.
Some deaths are not included in the statistics for several days due to testing or family members being informed. Friday's figures included patients who died between March 11 and May 7 but two thirds died in the last three days.
Meanwhile the public has been told to expect “limited” changes to be made to the lockdown on Sunday as the Government looks to temper expectations over the lifting of the coronavirus-related restrictions.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the social-distancing rules currently in place had not been lifted for the bank holiday weekend, with the country on Friday marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day, when victory was declared in Europe during the Second World War.
The lockdown is facing a major test from a long weekend of warm weather, and concerns of mixed messaging ahead of Boris Johnson’s announcement on easing restrictions.
Mr Dowden told BBC Breakfast: “The situation remains exactly as it has been for several weeks, that is people should be staying at home in order to protect the NHS and save lives. That hasn’t changed.
“Once again we have that temptingly sunny bank holiday weekend coming up but, please, people should not be leaving home except for the limited reasons we’ve already set out.”
