A SECOND coronavirus hotspot in the Midlands has been linked to a church after two worshippers died.
Thirty-two deaths have been recorded in hospitals in the area – accounting for about 20 per cent of the fatalities in the UK.
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The death toll in the Midlands is higher than all seven NHS England regions except London, which has recorded 56 deaths – more than a third.
The majority of the deaths – a total of 21 – have occurred at three neighbouring trusts, The Times reports.
Among these is the Royal Wolverhampton Trust, which has reported nine deaths – the highest number for any trust in England.
A source has now told the newspaper two of these have been linked to a church where the member of the congregation had attended without realising they had the disease.
One patient is understood to have tested negative twice for coronavirus but died – with the infection only discovered during a post-mortem.
Speaking yesterday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said authorities were doing everything possible to find out why the hotspot had emerged.
He said: "There is a hotspot, not as big as in London, but there is a hotspot in the Midlands.
"It's something that we're looking at very, very closely to find out why, frankly."
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On Thursday, eight more coronavirus fatalities in the West Midlands were reported including three at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, two by the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, two by Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust and one by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
The youngest Brit to die from the disease in the UK, 45-year-old Craig Ruston, is among deaths in the region.
The dad-of-two, from Kettering, Northamptonshire, had motor neurone disease.
Birmingham is the second largest city in the UK with about 1.1million people in the city. A total of about 3.8 million live in the metropolitan area.
The multicultural community is also one of the biggest travel hubs thanks to the East Midlands Airport and the Midlands Rail Hub.
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