LATEST figures show there have now been 553 deaths from coronavirus in Dudley and Sandwell.

NHS England statistics for today (Thursday May 14) record 237 COVID-19 related deaths at Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital and 316 deaths linked to coronavirus at hospitals run by Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust.

Figures published by Public Health England also show that 889 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Dudley (a rate of 277.3 per 100,000 people) and there have been 1,141 confirmed cases in Sandwell (a rate of 348.5 per 100,000 people).

According to papers prepared for today's board of directors meeting (Thursday May 14) at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation, which runs Russells Hall, 277 COVID-19 patients had been discharged by April 22.

The papers also reveal that 109 staff at the trust had tested positive for coronavirus in the weeks leading up to May 1.