A FURTHER 16 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the Cheshire West and Chester area – as a hospital trust registered the first death in the county in two weeks.

The increase in the 24-hour Government reporting period up to 4pm today (September 16) is in addition to the 19 confirmed cases reported in yesterday's update.

It brings the total number of confirmed cases for the borough to 2,330.

Meanwhile, Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the first in the county to record an additional death of a patient testing positive for the virus since August 31.

Today's NHS England data shows that the death occurred on Monday, September 14.

The number of positive Covid-19 cases recorded in west Cheshire for the week of September 7-13 is 103, according to the Government data, but is likely to increase further with some tests taking as long as a week to confirm a positive result.

It means the infection rate for Cheshire West and Chester is about 30 cases per 100,000 people for last week.

The figure of 20 cases per 100,000 is the threshold the UK’s governments have used to judge whether returning travellers from foreign countries must endure a 14-day quarantine period.

Despite the continuing rise in coronavirus cases, the Countess of Chester Hospital Trust has, to date, not registered a death for over eight weeks.

The total number of people who have died in Cheshire hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus stands at 727.

The Countess of Chester Hospital Trust has recorded 227 deaths (last recorded July 18), Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has recorded 214 deaths, the last on August 31; East Cheshire NHS Trust 146 (last recorded July 22), and Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 139 (last recorded September 14).

In England, a further 11 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 29,687.