Dozens more coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded in south Essex hospitals.

Today’s figures from NHS England show there has been a further 31 fatalities at Southend and Basildon hospitals.

At Southend, 18 more deaths were announced, with each one happening between January 6 and 17.

As many as 12 were recorded on January 16.

It takes the total number of patients at Southend Hospital who have died after contracting Covid-19 to 594.

There has also been another 13 deaths announced at the Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Six happened on Tuesday, five on Wednesday and the other two yesterday (Thursday, January 21). It means the overall number of fatalities at Basildon Hospital linked to Covid-19 has risen to 740.

Today’s data shows 993 more Covid deaths have been recorded in hospitals across England.

READ MORE: 

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.

NHS England guidance states: "Confirmation of Covid-19 diagnosis, death notification and reporting in central figures can take up to several days and the hospitals providing the data are under significant operational pressure."

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.