THE total number of patients who have died after testing positive for coronavirus at the trust which runs Colchester Hospital has now hit 517.

The latest NHS England figures from the East Suffolk and North Essex Trust, which runs Colchester and Ipswich hospitals, shows ten people have died since Sunday.

At the Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals Trust 499 have now died from Covid-19 and, in addition to 235 at Mid Essex Hospitals Trust.

Clacton Hospital has sadly recorded a total of 16 deaths since the start of the pandemic, while the Fryatt Hospital has seen 27.

Across England a further 401 deaths were confirmed at hospital trusts today.