Tragic milestone at Preston and Chorley hospitals as deaths pass 100 mark

The death toll at Royal Preston and Chorley hospitals stood at 103 this afternoon, up from 92 yesterday, statistics released by NHS England revealed.

Some 200 patients have been discharged, the trust said earlier this week.

There are at least 2,381 confirmed cases in the council area of Lancashire, though a lack of widespread testing means the true figure is likely to be much higher.

It comes as coronavirus tests for key workers through the Government’s new booking website ran out in England for a second day in a row.

More than 10 million key workers and their households are now eligible for Covid-19 tests as officials race to hit their 100,000-a-day testing target by next Thursday.

However, home testing kits were listed as “unavailable” on the Government’s booking website just 15 minutes after it reopened this morning, according to the BBC.

It was also not possible to book tests at drive-through regional sites in England and Northern Ireland by 10am.

According to the site, tests at a drive-through regional site in Scotland are still available.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said more will be made available from Sunday morning at 8am.