NO new coronavirus deaths have been confirmed in Dorset hospitals, latest figures show.

Data released by NHS England for Friday March 12 showed that no new deaths were recorded in any of the county’s hospitals.

Only six coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded across the south west in the last 24 hours.

The last recorded deaths in Dorset's hospitals on March 6, with one at the Dorset County Hospital and two at the University Hospitals Dorset Trust.

This means that, since the start of the pandemic, a total of 719 people have died at the University Hospitals Dorset Trust, 109 people have died at the Dorset County Hospital and 72 have died at the Dorset Healthcare Trust.

Across England, a further 132 people, who tested positive for the Covid-19 virus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 85,067.

Patients were aged between 41 and 100 years old. All except eight (aged 52 to 100 years old) had known underlying health conditions.