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Two more coronavirus deaths in Black Country and Birmingham hospitals

A further two coronavirus patients have been confirmed to have died in hospitals across the Black Country and Birmingham.

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A coronavirus testing swab for staff from Legal and General being tested ahead of returning to their Head Office in London

No new coronavirus deaths were announced in Staffordshire, in figures released on Monday.

It takes the Covid-19 death toll in the region's hospitals to 2,459.

The UK-wide death toll, including deaths in and out of hospital, was 41,736 - up 38 from yesterday.

The number of deaths in hospitals in England went up by 28 to 27,982, in figures announced on Monday.

Of the new hospital deaths announced on Monday, one was reported at the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, in charge of the Manor Hospital, where the total is now 219.

A further death was confirmed at the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, taking the total to 940. The trust runs Queen Elizabeth, Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull hospitals.

No new deaths were reported at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs New Cross and Cannock Chase hospitals, where the total remains 282, or at the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Russells Hall Hospital, where the total is 257.

There were also no new deaths recorded at the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, which runs Sandwell General and City hospitals, where the total remains 369.

No new deaths were announced in Staffordshire on Monday. At the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs Stafford’s County Hospital and Royal Stoke University Hospital, the total number of deaths remains at 323.

No new deaths were reported in Worcestershire, where the total death toll in the county’s hospitals remains 294.

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A spokesman for NHS England said: “A further 28 people, who tested positive for coronavirus (Covid-19) have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 27,982.

"Patients were aged between 59 and 100 years old. All patients had known underlying health conditions.

"Their families have been informed."

The daily hospital figures include Covid-19 patients whose deaths were confirmed in the previous 24 hours, not who died in that period.

It came as ministers are under intense pressure from Conservative MPs to go further by easing the two-metre social distancing rule so the hard-pressed hospitality sector can also reopen.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed at the weekend that he had ordered a "comprehensive" Downing Street review of the regulation.

The Prime Minister said the falling numbers of Covid-19 cases meant there was a greater "margin for manoeuvre" as the chances of coming into contact with someone with the disease diminished.

The review announcement comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged the Government not to lift the lockdown until it is proven its widely criticised coronavirus contact tracing system works.

After it was revealed the Government failed to trace the contacts of a third of those testing positive in the first week of the new system, Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO's director for Europe, warned Britain was still in the midst of a "very active phase of the pandemic".