Covid-19 deaths pass 700 at Wigan's NHS trust

NHS England figures show 707 people had died in hospital at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust as of 5pm on Monday (February 1).

That was an increase of nine compared to Sunday, when there were 698.

It means there have been 21 deaths in the past week, down from 22 the previous week.

The victims were among 12,053 deaths recorded across the North West, which is the third-worst affected of England's seven NHS regions after the midlands and London.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death.

This means some of the deaths that were first recorded in the latest period may actually have taken place days earlier.

NHS England guidance states: "Confirmation of Covid-19 diagnosis, death notification and reporting in central figures can take up to several days and the hospitals providing the data are under significant operational pressure."

Only deaths that occur in hospitals where the patient has tested positive for Covid-19 are recorded, with deaths in the community excluded, such as those in care homes.