Sheffield's coronavirus death toll continues to rise

The latest data from NHS England released yesterday took the total number of deaths in the city up to 13 after another three patients who tested positive for Covid-19 lost their lives.

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Across South Yorkshire, 19 people have died altogether, with three deaths in Barnsley, two in Doncaster and one in Rotherham.

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As of yesterday, the number of confirmed deaths in England was 1,125 - an increase of 190 in one day.

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Those patients were aged between 39 and 105 years old and all but four had underlying health conditions.

Questions have been raised over whether the official coronavirus toll accurately reflects the number of deaths seen in hospitals.

Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries said there is a ‘time lag’ in the number of deaths tallied up as officials firm up the numbers and speak to families.

Asked about disparities in figures at a Downing Street press conference, Dr Harries said: “We have to make sure that when we're reporting the family is content and knows and all our data is absolutely accurate.

“There is always a time lag for us to check and evaluate that the data across the system is linked.

“We do not want to be misreporting data and then having to correct it.

“The public would not have confidence if we were doing that.

“As we have sadly had to register more deaths, that time period takes longer.”