Thursday update: Another sombre milestone as Covid-19 claims its 300th victim at Northampton General Hospital

No let-up in warnings from local health officials as known death toll reaches 642 in county
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Covid-19 has claimed its 300th victim at Northampton General Hospital.

This latest death among patients at the Cliftonville site who have tested positive for the killer bug was confirmed by the NHS today land takes the known total to a sobering 642 in the county's two main hospitals and care homes.

The unknown victim, who died on Wednesday (July 8), is the 300th in 114 days at NGH since the first, a 92-year-old man, died there on March 16.

NGH stopped making any official comment regarding deaths at the hospital on May 12.

Covid-19 has also accounted for 214 deaths at Kettering General Hospital while a further 128 fatalities among the county's care home residents have been linked to coronavirus.

County health officials are not letting up in their warnings to stay safe as neighbours Leicester enters the second week of its local lockdown following a spike in cases.

Director of Health Lucy Wightman said: "Overall in Northamptonshire, the trend of new infections is reducing and hospitalisations and deaths due to Covid-19 continue to decline.

Covid-19 claimed its 300th victim at Northampton General Hospital on Wednesday. Photo: Getty ImagesCovid-19 claimed its 300th victim at Northampton General Hospital on Wednesday. Photo: Getty Images
Covid-19 claimed its 300th victim at Northampton General Hospital on Wednesday. Photo: Getty Images

“However, I must emphasise that the virus has not gone away, and I continue to urge everyone to stay alert and act responsibly in helping us to control the virus and keep transmission rates low.

"As lockdown measures ease, it is essential that we act responsibly and minimise risks of increased transmission rates. It is easy to see from other areas how the number of cases can increase rapidly, with far-reaching consequences."

The total number of positive tests in the county rose to 3,199 when the latest figures were collated at 9am today (Thursday) — a rise of 14 in the previous 24 hours.

Northamptonshire has seen 94 new cases reported in a week since the government widened its approach to counting the number of infections to include tests outside hospitals last Thursday (July 2).

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