THREE more people have now died at the Royal Bolton Hospital after contracting coronavirus.

Official statistics released by NHS England revealed that the deaths of three patients being treated at the borough hospital on Thursday had been linked to Covid-19.

Since March last year, 545 patients have died in the hospital with coronavirus.

The latest deaths were confirmed as another 124 people across the borough tested positive for Covid-19.

In the week to January 24, 905 new cases were confirmed, for a rate of 314.7 infections per 100,000 people. The week before saw 1,085 cases reported, a rate of 377.3 cases.

A total of 21,373 cases of Covid-19 have now been confirmed across Bolton during the pandemic.