Coronavirus: Four more patients die as Peterborough hospital trust issues Covid-19 sepsis warning

The number of patients to have died at either Peterborough City Hospital or Hinchingbrooke Hospital has now reached 116.

A further person in Peterborough has also tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total to 224.

In Cambridgeshire, the figure is 722, while it is 1,019 in Northamptonshire and 828 in Lincolnshire.

Across the UK, the number of Covid-19 related deaths has risen by 674 to 26,711.

The hospital trust has also issued a warning that “from information presently available on clinical cases of Covid-19, it appears that a percentage of covid-19 infections can result in sepsis. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to infection injures its own tissues and organs”.

It added: “At this time it remains vital to be aware and monitor for any deterioration in your own (or another adult’s) condition. Self-isolating or not, and you (or another adult) develop any of the following symptoms in the context of infection, then it is essential to seek urgent medical help:

. Slurred speech or confusion

. Extreme shivering or muscle pain

. Passing no urine (in a day)

. Severe breathlessness

. It feels like you’re going to die

. Skin mottled or discoloured

The trust said: “It’s important to note that breathlessness, cough and fever are common findings in people with Covid-19. We would suggest that at this time you seek help based on severe breathlessness ONLY if you find that you (or another adult) are very short of breath at rest, are breathing very rapidly (more than one breath every two seconds), cannot say more than two to three words at a time or notice a bluish discolouration of the lips, fingers or toes.”