FIVE deaths have been reported at the hospital in Southampton in the latest 24-hour period, the official figures show.

NHS England figures show 209 people had died in hospital at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust as of 5pm on Monday (October 26).

That was an increase of five compared to Sunday, when there were 204. It means there have been eight deaths in the past week, up from one the previous week.

For the fourth day in a row Hampshire has seen more than 200 new cases of Covid-19.

Some 214 were confirmed today bringing the total number since the start of the pandemic to 9,550.

Three more deaths have been reported in Hampshire County Council area, bringing the figure to 744.

In the Winchester district 27 people have tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours. Yesterday's figure was 942, and today the figure released by the Government on its website was 969 since the start of the pandemic in March.

Data shows that the infection rate in the city council district is now 776.1 people in every 100,000 since the start of the crisis.

In the Winchester district the number of new cases in the last seven days has been 172 (up nine), with 96 (up three) in the seven days previously.

‘Winchester district’ comprises more than just the city and is the city council area which stretches from Micheldever in the north to Southwick in the south, from Sparsholt in the west to Bramdean in the east.

There have been no new cases reported in schools, colleges or universities following the six at Winchester University yesterday and at Kings' sceondary and Owslebury primary.

In the Hampshire County Council area, which includes Winchester, the tally has risen from 9,336 to 9,550 in the last 24 hours, a rise of 214.

The rate for new cases in the Winchester district for the last seven days to Friday October 22, the latest available, is 106.5 people per 100,000 (133 cases), a figure that is climbing sharply. On the week to October 16 the figure was 77.7 (97).

The R number, the reproduction number, in the south-east has dropped slightly to between 1.2 and 1.5 meaning that on average every 10 people infected will infect between 12 and 15 other people. The growth rate in the south east region is now between +4% and +7%, meaning the number of new infections is growing by up to 7% every day.

Nationally, 367 people have died in the UK, bringing the number of confirmed reported deaths to 45,365. There have been 917,575 cases of the virus across the UK. This is an increase of 22,885 in the last 24 hours.

The number of deaths in Hampshire hospitals is now 634. The figure for fatalities at the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which includes the RHCH in Winchester, is 166 with no deaths reported since the weekend. For the other local county trusts: Portsmouth Hospital, 240; Solent, 2; Southern Health, 17; University Hospital Southampton, 209.

Only deaths that occur in hospitals where the patient has tested positive for Covid-19 are recorded, with deaths in the community excluded, such as those in care homes.

Across the south-east region, which includes Hampshire, there are 464 patients in hospital today, the same as yesterday. The latest available figure for the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester is 33 on Thursday. The Chronicle has asked for the latest figure but the healthcare trust has not responded.

Regarding Covid patients admitted to hospital, the latest available figure is 65 reported on Saturday, down five on Friday, in the south-east region, which includes Hampshire. There are today 464 with the condition in hospital, up 4 on Sunday, with 15 on ventilators, down five, according to the ONS. The numbers are not broken down for the hospitals in Hampshire.

Total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic of people who had had a positive test result for Covid-19 and died within 28 days of the first positive test, is: Hampshire, 744, up three (53.8 per 100,000 people), Portsmouth, 79 (36.8) and Southampton, 128 (50.7). The Winchester district figure, the city council area, is 82, a rate of 65.7, higher than the other three areas mentioned. But all the Hampshire figures are below the national average.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death. This means some of the deaths that were first recorded in the latest period may actually have taken place days earlier.