A further rise in deaths has been recorded in Cornwall involving patients testing positive for coronavirus, on the same day that a new record high in daily cases is recorded both locally and in the UK.

The latest death, which took place at the Cornwall Partnerships NHS Trust on Wednesday (January 6) and has been recorded in today's figures from NHS England, marks the third reported rise this week.

It follows three deaths on Monday (January 4), which were reported on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

There have now been 85 deaths registered to the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust and 29 to the Cornwall Partnerships NHS Trust, bringing the overall total number of hospital deaths in Cornwall to 114.

The overall total number of deaths in Cornwall – including deaths in care homes and other settings – now sits at 198, including three new deaths recorded in today's figures.

Nationally a further 715 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died in hospitals in England, bringing the total number to 54,445.

Patients were aged between 30 and 101 years old. All except 23 – aged 45 to 99 years old – had known underlying health conditions and their families have been informed.

The dates of their deaths ranged from December 15, 2020 to January 7, 2021, with the majority being on or after January 5, 2021.

Of these, 31 deaths were in the south west.

Overall in the UK another 1,235 people have died within 28 days of their first positive test result, bringing the total number of UK deaths to 79,833. This figure includes people in care home and other settings.

The number of people testing positive for coronavirus in the UK has increased by 52,618.

This brings the total to 2,889,419 nationally since the start of the pandemic.

The latest Covid-19 case information for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has also been published.

As of 4pm today, (Friday, January 8) there have been 412 new cases recorded in the previous 24 hours - a new record high for Cornwall.

The total number of cases in the local authority area since the start of the pandemic now sits at 8,310.

There were 1,941 cases recorded in the seven days leading up to January 3. Data from the most recent five days is not shown due to being incomplete.

This represents a weekly rate of 339.5 cases per 100,000 people.

Yesterday the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust revealed that the number of patients admitted with Covid-19 symptoms was now 14 times higher than a month ago. 

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The number of people testing positive for coronavirus in the UK has increased by 68,053, which is also a national record high.

This brings the total to 2,957,472 nationally since the start of the pandemic.

In today's other related news:

A number of GP surgeries in Cornwall are to begin giving the new Oxford vaccine protecting against coronavirus.

Both the Pfizer vaccine and the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine are now being used across Cornwall, making it easier to protect care home residents and other vulnerable people against COVID-19.

Read the full story here.

Two members of staff at Helston Community College are isolating at home after a confirmed case of coronavirus at the school.

Cornwall Council has confirmed that one member of staff has tested positive for the virus and is now isolating, along with a second member of staff who was a close contact.

Read the full story here.