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Hospitals in Kent have reported three further coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours.

A total of 19,557 cases have been confirmed in the county - 16,878 in Kent and 2,679 in Medway - as of 4pm today. That's an increase of 562 from the previous day.

Since the start of the lockdown, when the numbers were first reported, more than 1,600 people have died in the county after catching Covid-19.

Just over 1,000 of these deaths were in hospitals and the rest were in care homes and other settings.

The latest deaths happened at East Kent Hospitals Trust sites on Friday.

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust has reported a total of 250 deaths.

At Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust (MTW), 132 people have died.

In total 478 deaths have been reported by East Kent Hospitals Trust since March 22. The William Harvey, Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother and Kent and Canterbury hospitals are all part of this trust.

Kent's first death was a 64-year-old man with underlying health conditions.

He died at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham on March 18. The total at the trust is now 213.

There have been 48 deaths reported by Kent Community Healthcare Trust which looks after people in their homes.

Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust has reported one death.

There have also now been two deaths at Sheppey Community Hospital and one at Dartford's Livingstone Community Hospital, which are managed by Virgin Care Services Ltd.

Care homes and community deaths were included in the UK daily total for the first time on Wednesday, April 29, with the overall figure jumping by around 4,400 as a result.

But localised care home deaths are not published until some time after they are recorded meaning the NHS England hospital statistics are the most up-to-date.

Figures released by Public Health England and the University of Cambridge at the end of July revealed the south east's rate at which the virus spreads - known as the 'R number' - had crept above one for the first time since lockdown was eased, meaning new infections are on the rise.

In order to continue moving out of lockdown the government has said that number has to stay below 1, after which point infections go up.

The rate in the south east began at 2.42 and dropped to a low of 0.7 during strict lockdown before gradually rising as restrictions have been eased.

Earlier in the pandemic dementia has been identified as a pre-existing health condition in around 14% of deaths, as was ischaemic heart diseases, 13% of victims had a respiratory disease, 11% had influenza or pneumonia while 9% had no medical conditions.

Families have paid tribute to their loved ones who have sadly lost their fight against Covid-19 on our memorial page.

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