A FURTHER 20 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 29,891, NHS England said on Saturday.

Patients were aged between 43 and 96 and all had known underlying health conditions.

The deaths were between April 3 and September 25.

Four other deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.

The news comes after it was revealed that results of coronavirus tests carried out in an NHS hospital or Public Health England lab cannot be linked with the newly-launched NHS Covid-19 app.

The app, which has been available for download across England and Wales since Thursday, has been hailed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock as an “important step forward” in the fight against the virus.

But officials said results from tests done in a Public Health England lab or NHS hospital, and those done as part of the Office for National Statistics’ national surveillance programme, cannot currently be linked with the app.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it is aware of the issue and “urgently working” to resolve it.