As many as 4 patients dying each day at Milton Keynes Hospital after testing positive for Covid-19

This is an increase of 17 from the figure released by public health officials on Saturday.

Their statistics give a grim picture of how many critical cases the hospital is dealing with, and how they are losing four patients a day on some days.

At nearby Luton and Dunstable University Hospital, 46 patients have died, while the figures for Bedford Hospital and Northampton General Hospital are 31 and 32 respectively.

The health trusts where most deaths have occurred are in Birmingham and London.

In general, the map showing where deaths have occurred shows urban areas are the worst hit, but there are some health trusts where the number dying is higher than might be expected.

Public Health officials say the figures relate to patients who have died in hospitals and had tested positive for COVID-19 at time of death.

A spokesman said: "All deaths are recorded against the date of death rather than the date the deaths were announced.

"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 "

The figures do not include deaths outside hospital, such as those in care homes.

figures released yesterday (Wednesday) showed there had 195 confirmed cases of coronavirus in MK since testing began. But this figure only covers people who have been tested at the hospital and the true extent of the infection in the community is not known.