UK coronavirus death toll passes 15,000 as 67 more patients die in Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire
A further 67 coronavirus patients have been confirmed to have died across the Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire.
The latest figures announced on Saturday showed 1,429 people with Covid-19 have now died in the region's hospitals, although the full death toll is likely to be far higher.
Meanwhile the hospital death toll across the UK increased by 888 to 15,464.
The largest increase in the region was in Walsall where 29 new deaths were reported, meaning 128 patients have now died with Covid-19 at the Manor Hospital.
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Seven more deaths were announced at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Sandwell General and City Hospital, where the death toll now stands at 238.
Meanwhile 564 patients have now been confirmed to have died in the care of the University Hospitals Birmingham trust where 18 more deaths were confirmed.
The trust - which runs Queen Elizabeth, Good Hope, Heartlands and Solihull hospitals as well as the new Nightingale Hospital at the NEC - has had 190 more patients die in its care than any other UK trust. Sandwell and West Birmingham is eighth on the list of trusts with the most deaths.
Six new deaths were announced at Royal Wolverhampton trust, where 195 patients have now died, and three more deaths were confirmed at the Dudley Group trust where the total now stands at 169.
Four more deaths were confirmed at the University Hospitals of North Midlands trust, meaning 118 patients have now died at Royal Stoke Hospital and County Hospital in Stafford.
In Worcestershire the hospital death toll now stands at 146 after 18 more deaths were confirmed.
Across England, 784 more deaths were announced, with the patients aged between 26 and 100.
Of these 38 patients aged between 44 and 96 had no known underlying health conditions.
PPE and care home concerns continue
The statistics released by the NHS each day only include people who died in hospital, meaning the true level of death caused by the pandemic is not yet known.
As many as 7,500 people are feared to have died after contracting coronavirus in care homes, according to a leading industry body.
Care England, which represents independent care firms, said it had collected data which suggested fatalities are far higher than those released by the Office for National Statistics – who recorded 217 care home deaths from the virus up until April 3.
Meanwhile the Government continues to come under pressure over the shortage of protective equipment available to hospitals, care homes and key workers across the country.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street confirmed there had been "significant shortfalls" in deliveries to councils across the region compared to what had been promised by the Government.
And a British Medical Association survey of more than 6,000 doctors across the country said a significant amount of them remain without the protection they need to guard against Covid-19.
It was revealed that doctors and nurses in England will be asked to work without full-length gowns and to reuse items when treating coronavirus patients ahead of expected shortages of protective garments, prompting outrage from unions.
Robert Jenrick then announced at Saturday's briefing that hundreds of thousands of pieces of PPE would be delivered to hospitals in the coming days.
In other news, the trust that runs Russells Hall Hospital has encouraged people to stay at home after concerns were raised over the large crowd that gathered outside the hospital during Thursday's Clap for Carers event.
