The total number of hospital patients who have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Norfolk has now passed 1,000.

The confirmation of 30 new Covid related deaths in the latest 24 hour period brings the county's death toll to 1,013 since the start of the pandemic.

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital reported 28 of the new deaths, which occurred at the hospital dating back to January 12.

The hospital said 20 patients, including 11 men and nine women, had died between January 11 and January 20.

This month alone, 163 deaths have been reported at the Norwich hospital, the highest monthly total since April.

The hospital has also discharged 1,000 patients since the start of the pandemic.

At the James Paget University Hospital, in Gorleston, this month has seen more Covid deaths than any other, with 80.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in King's Lynn, has reported 64 deaths this month.

It means the first month of 2021 has now reported the most Covid deaths of the whole pandemic, with 324 deaths.

This has surpassed the first wave in April where 254 people were reported to have died across the county's hospitals.

Figures show coronavirus infection rates across the county are falling week on week, but have also brought warnings from the prime minister and the director of public health for Norfolk.

On Thursday, Dr Louise Smith said the county may have turned a corner over infection rates but warned the number of hospital admissions and deaths has yet to peak.

She said: "I think it's reasonable to anticipate that while we remain in lockdown and people follow the current regulations - and unless we see a new variant emerge again - that we are seeing a trend of the number of infections in the community come down.

"We don't believe we've seen the peak in terms of hospital admissions yet, or, indeed, of deaths, because those follow a number of days to weeks after the peak in the community."

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 397 deaths at the NNUH, 254 at the James Paget, 307 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and 55 in the region's community hospitals.