A further 71 people have died in hospital in England after testing positive for coronavirus, or where Covid-19 was the direct or underlying cause, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 28,292, NHS England said.

Patients were aged between 41 and 95 years old. One, aged 68, had no known underlying health conditions.

The South West was the only region to report no deaths in the latest figures.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said 42,589 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Friday, up by 128 from 42,461 the day before.

The Government figures do not include all deaths involving Covid-19 across the UK, which is thought to have passed 53,000.

The DHSC also said in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Saturday, 230,550 tests were carried out or dispatched, with 1,295 positive results.

Overall, a total of 7,714,201 tests have been carried out and 303,110 cases have been confirmed positive.

The figure for the number of people tested has been "temporarily paused to ensure consistent reporting" across all methods of testing.