THE number of deaths of patients diagnosed with coronavirus has risen by 708 over the past day, government figures show.

The latest government statistics reveal the official death toll has risen to 4,313, up from 3,605 on Friday and the largest increase in a single day.

The Department of Health said a total of 183,190 people had been tested as of 9am on Saturday, of which 41,903 tested positive.

A five-year-old child is among the 637 people who tested positive for Covid-19 to have died in hospital on Friday, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 3,939, NHS England said.

The oldest patient was 104, and 40 had no known underlying conditions, aged between 48 and 93.

NHS England said 212 of the deaths of patients with Covid-19 were in the Midlands, with 127 in London, 97 in the North West, 73 in the North East and Yorkshire, 70 in the East of England, 41 in the South East and 17 in the South West.

There were three more deaths of patients with Covid-19 at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on Friday, while Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust reported no further deaths.

However The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, in Harlow, reported the death of one patient infected with Covid-19.