Nine more coronavirus deaths recorded as Doncaster death toll reaches 459

Newly released NHS England figures this afternoon show that nine further deaths have been recorded at Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS Teaching Hospitals Trust in the last 24 hours to reach the latest total.

However, due to delays in recording and reporting, it does not necessarily mean the deaths have occurred in the last day.

Meanwhile, last week health bosses said the number of admissions to the region’s hospitals have remained broadly stable.

Bosses at Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, which runs the area’s three hospitals, described the situation as ‘positive news’ in its weekly update on the coronavirus situation in Doncaster.

In a statement a spokesman said: “We have some more positive news this week as the number of COVID-19 patients we are providing care for continues to remain broadly stable rather than continuing to rise.

"We are currently providing care for 149 patients, 13 of which require intensive care. We have also seen a slight drop in daily COVID-19 related admissions, and long may this continue.

Meanwhile, in his weekly update on the coronavirus situation in Doncaster, Dr Rupert Suckling, the town’s Director of Public Health, has said that the town’s infection rate now stands at just over 200 per 100,000 people – with a further drop expected in the coming days.

He said: “Good news is that our infection rate in the borough continues to fall – from 21st to 27th November, our rate was 203.6 infections per 100,000 people and I expect that to continue to fall further over the next few days.