SEVEN more patients within Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust have sadly lost their lives after contracting coronavirus.

The latest figures, available publicly to view, from NHS England show that a total of 37 people have died within four NHS trusts in Somerset.

A total of 22 deaths have been reported at Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Musgrove Park Hospital.

Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust have merged, but government data continues to show them individually and Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group has so far not responded to requests to explain how this changes the situation.

Today's figures (April 16), report the deaths of 740 people who have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 12,396.

Patients were aged between 28 and 103 years old. 40 of the 740 patients (aged between 45 and 93 years old) had no known underlying health condition.

Yesterday is was confirmed the total of positive cases in the area covered by Somerset County Council now stands at 233, with a further update expected later today. Across the whole of the UK, the total of confirmed cases is nearing the 100,000 mark and stands at 98,476.

Here is the Somerset breakdown by trust:

Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust - 2

Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust - 22

Weston Area Health NHS Trust - 3

Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - 10