Hospitals in Suffolk and north Essex have reported that seven more people have died after contracting coronavirus, as the UK deaths rose by 861 in 24 hours.

Six of these deaths were reported by the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation trust, which looks after Ipswich and Colchester Hospitals.

A further death was also reported at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds.

It’s not clear yet how old the patients in each case were, but more information is expected later this afternoon.

The new figures come as the government confirmed 861 people died in the last 24 hours across the UK after testing positive for the virus, with the total number of deaths now 13,729.

A further 4,618 people tested positive for the virus, meaning that official figures show 103,093 people have now had coronavirus in the UK.

However, it is widely accepted that there are more unconfirmed cases across the region and the country.

On Tuesday the Office for National Statistics began releasing information regarding deaths in care homes for those thought to have coronavirus, revealing potentially thousands more deaths than previously thought up to April 3.

Figures confirming the latest number of cases and deaths reported in each county will be published later today.