No new Shropshire Covid-19 deaths but IT problem means cases unreported for 10 hours

No further coronavirus patient deaths have been reported in Shropshire today - but a national IT error means reports were not made for 10 hours on Sunday.

The current Covid-19 death toll for the county's major health trusts stands at 153.

Of the 153, a total of 136 people have died and tested positive for Covid-19 at Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust, with 12 at Shropshire Community Health Trust and five at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) near Oswestry.

The figure announced by NHS England today for total deaths in its hospitals was 59.

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Accompanying the announcement was an explanation about the unusually low number which revealed that the system used to track the deaths had not been working for 10 hours.

A statement from NHS England said: "The Covid Patient Notification System did not operate between 4.55am and 3pm on Sunday, May 24, due to connectivity issues experienced by an external supplier.

"The number of deaths reported today by NHS England and NHS Improvement may therefore reflect this situation.

"The system is now fully operational and the reports of any deaths which were not able to be entered yesterday will be uploaded and reconciled."

The number of deaths in Powys has not risen and still stands at 13, according to Powys Teaching Health Board.

However, figures from the Office for National Statistics show at least 75 people are suspected to have died with the virus in Powys – 41 of whom were in care homes.

In Shropshire the latest figures from that 99 people have died and tested positive for the virus in the county's care homes.