TWO more Covid patients at the Countess of Chester Hospital Trust have sadly died.
NHS England has been recording the number of coronavirus patient deaths at hospitals in England since the start of the pandemic.
Both patients' deaths were recorded on July 20, and were the first such deaths to be recorded at the hospital since June 27.
It brings the total of coronavirus patient deaths at the trust to 620 since the start of the pandemic.
The news comes as the third wave of coronavirus is showing sings of having hit a peak, with the rate of confirmed cases dropping in recent days.
In the past seven days, a total of 1,127 new cases were added in the Cheshire West and Chester area, a 35.1 per cent drop on the previous seven days.
Factors leading to the drop-off in cases include less testing of school-age pupils, now they are on their summer holidays, with the number of Lateral Flow Tests being carried out having dropped by about one quarter since the start of the month to an average of 3,784 per day.
Research conducted nationally also suggests that a surge in the number of Covid cases may have been caused by people congregating in indoor areas during the Euro 2020 football tournament.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here