NORTH Cumbria’s two acute hospitals have had 15 days with no Covid-19 deaths reported, new figures show.

As of yesterday, the coronavirus death toll reported by North Cumbria Integrated Care Foundation NHS Trust, which runs the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, was 146, with the figure unchanged for 15 days.

In south Cumbria, the number of Covid-19 deaths reported by the NHS trust which runs Furness General Hospital and Lancaster Royal Infirmary was 162. The trust has reported two coronavirus deaths in the last seven days.

Meanwhile, the county has seen a dramatic fall in the number care homes with coronavirus infections - down from a high of 27 homes to 11.

However, the number of Covid-19 deaths in Cumbrian care homes was yesterday estimated to be 208 - of which 108 were confirmed, and the remainder said to be deaths in which coronavirus is believed to have been a factor. All those deaths are since April 1.

There are currently 90 care home residents in Cumbria confirmed to have Covid-19, with 23 suspected cases.

Public Health director Colin Cox said: “We’ve been working extremely hard with the county’s care homes and with NHS colleagues to bring coronavirus under control.

“It’s very positive that the number of homes with outbreaks has now reduced significantly to 11, from a high of 27. In terms of the number of individuals with confirmed or suspected infection we are clearly seeing a downward trend but the situation remains serious.

“Sadly, given the number of current confirmed infections, it is likely that the overall number of deaths will continue to rise for a period, but at a decreasing daily rate.

“We, along with NHS colleagues, continue to provide comprehensive support to care homes across the county who have been doing great work to support people and prevent infection spread.”

At yesterday’s Downing Street briefing, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the UK’s “test and trace” system was now working well, with more than 128,000 tests carried out on Sunday alone.

The briefing heard that 111 people had died from the virus across “all settings in the previous 24 hours” - the lowest daily deaths figure since the end of March.