MORE than 150 people have now died in hospitals in St Helens and Whiston after contracting coronavirus.

The latest NHS figures show that a further four more people have died at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

NHS data shows that one patient died at the trust, which runs Whiston, St Helens and Newton hospitals, on Wednesday, April 29, and three on Thursday, April 30.

Their families have been informed.

The latest count means the trust has now registered 151 coronavirus-related deaths.

Across England, a further 352 people who tested positive for the coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals to 20,483.

Patients were aged between 30 and 103 years old.

Out of the 352 patients, 18 of them – aged between 43 and 98 years old – had no known underlying health condition. a

The figures are updated by NHS England each day and include confirmed death cases reported at 5pm the previous day.

These figures only include hospital deaths and do not include deaths outside hospital, such as those in care homes.

Previously, all of the deaths reported by NHS England had been patients who tested positive for COVID-19 at the time of death.

NHS England has also this week began to report the number of people who died in hospitals where there has been no positive test result, but where COVID-19 is documented on their death certificate.

Today’s update shows that a further 22 people died in hospitals in England where a positive test result was not received but COVID-19 is mentioned on their death certificate.

Neither NHS England nor the government currently releases recovery figures.

Some individual hospital trusts have begun to publish the number of people it has discharged after contracting coronavirus.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has requested discharge figures from St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust but it has yet to publish any.