The number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Norfolk hospitals has now passed 1,500.

The confirmation of 36 new deaths in the week leading up to February 23 took the county’s virus death toll to 1,513.

More than half of all Covid hospital deaths in Norfolk have happened since January 1, with 819 recorded since then.

So far, 85 people who had tested for positive have died at the Norwich hospital this month.

The hospital recorded 300 virus deaths January – the highest monthly figure since the start of the pandemic.

The James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston has seen 75 Covid deaths so far this month, compared to last months record 112 deaths.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn has reported 67 deaths this month. It too saw the most deaths in one month in January, when 143 people with the virus died.

In all, 582 virus patients died in Norfolk hospitals in January, more than double the 254 deaths seen in April last year.

So far , 237 patients have died so far this month, with more Covid deaths recorded in the first two months of 2021 than all previous deaths combined.

But data shows infection rates and admissions of virus patients to hospital are tumbling across the county.

Care home deaths have also fallen sharply, with 32 recorded in the week leading up to February 19, down from a record 103 in the last week in January.

Last week Norfolk County Council’s public health chief Dr Louise Smith said she was confident the weeks ahead would see numbers of deaths continue to fall, both in hospitals and in care homes.

Dr Smith said of the overall figures: "Deaths in hospitals are now coming down, while the lengths of stays in intensive care units is getting longer.

Dereham Times: Dr Louise Smith, director of public health for Norfolk. Picture: Norfolk County CouncilDr Louise Smith, director of public health for Norfolk. Picture: Norfolk County Council (Image: Norfolk County Council)

"We are also seeing the number of outbreaks in care homes coming down and that will be associated with a reduction in the number of deaths."

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 623 deaths at the NNUH, 362 at the James Paget, 453 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and 75 in the region's community hospitals.