ANOTHER hospital patient has died after testing positive for Covid-19 in Dorset.

NHS England confirmed the death had occurred while the patient was under the care of the Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust.

It occurred on October 28.

This means since the start of the pandemic, 17 deaths related to the coronavirus have been recorded at the hospital.

Elsewhere, Dorset County Hospital has had 24 deaths, Royal Bournemouth Hospital has confirmed 68 and Poole Hospital has had 66.

NHS officials said today another 163 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 32,647.

Patients were aged between 42 and 100 years old.

All except four - aged 60 to 90 years old - had known underlying health conditions.

NHS England said the date of death ranges from April 9 to October 29, with the majority occurring on or after 24 October.

According to the latest update provided by NHS England, as of October 27 Dorset hospitals were caring for 85 patients with coronavirus with 59 new Covid-19 admissions and diagnoses recorded over a seven-day period.