THREE hundred hospital patients have now died with Covid-19 in Dorset since the start of the pandemic.

Latest figures released by NHS England confirmed a further four people had died in the county’s hospitals.

Three deaths have been reported by University Hospitals Dorset.

The deaths occurred on December 10, 12 and 13.

One death was recorded by Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust on December 12.

Since the start of the pandemic, 107 deaths have been reported at Poole Hospital, 68 at Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals and 66 by University Hospitals Dorset.

Dorset County Hospital and Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust have had 27 and 32 respectively.

In an update on December 15, NHS officials announced another 293 people who tested positive for the coronavirus have died.

The total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 44,757.

Patients were aged between 38 and 98 years old.

All except eight, aged 59 to 86 years old, had known underlying health conditions.

Date of death ranges from October 31 to December 14, 2020.