ANOTHER seven Covid-related deaths have been confirmed by Dorset hospitals.

Six of the deaths have been reported by University Hospitals Dorset.

Four deaths were reported on January 12 with a further two occurring on January 13.

Dorset County Hospital reported one person died on January 13.

Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 424 people have died with the coronavirus in the county’s hospitals.

University Hospitals Dorset, which runs Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Christchurch and Poole Hospital, has recorded 170 deaths with Dorset County Hospital and Dorset Healthcare University NHS Trust recording 41 and 38 respectively.

Prior to the hospital merger in October 2020, Poole Hospital recorded 107 deaths with Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals recording 68.

On Wednesday, a further 22 deaths were reported across Dorset’s hospitals.

NHS England officials said a further 884 people who tested positive for the Coronavirus had died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 58,712.

Patients were aged between 27 and 101 years old.

All except 48, aged 38 to 101 years old, had known underlying health conditions.

Date of death ranges from December 4, 2020, to January 13m 2021.