Two new coronavirus deaths have been recorded at Buckinghamshire Trust in the latest 24-hour period, official figures show.

NHS England figures have revealed 143 people have died in hospital at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust as of 5pm on Wednesday, November 18.

READ MORE: High Wycombe’s Fiona Hollings’ battle to overcome anorexia

That was an increase of two compared to Tuesday, November 17 when there were 141.

It means there have been four deaths in the past week, up from three the previous week.

The victims were among 4,046 deaths recorded across the South East.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death.

This means some of the deaths that were first recorded in the latest period may actually have taken place days earlier.

Bucks Free Press:

The rise of deaths in the county

NHS England guidance states: "Confirmation of Covid-19 diagnosis, death notification and reporting in central figures can take up to several days and the hospitals providing the data are under significant operational pressure."

Only deaths that occur in hospitals where the patient has tested positive for Covid-19 are recorded, with deaths in the community excluded, such as those in care homes.

It also confirmed that coronavirus cases in the county increased by 98 over the last 24 hours (November 18), official figures show.

Public Health England figures show that 6,306 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Wednesday (November 18) in Buckinghamshire, up from 6,208 the same time on Tuesday.

READ MORE: 'Such behaviour will not be tolerated': Man banned from town centre after years of anti-social behaviour

The health body is now including Pillar 2 tests – those carried out by commercial partners – alongside Pillar 1 tests, which are analysed in NHS or PHE laboratories and which made up the first stage of the Government's mass testing programme.

The rate of infection in Buckinghamshire now stands at 1,159 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 2,184.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 19,609 over the period, to 1,430,341.

Buckinghamshire's cases were among the 110,974 recorded across the South East, a figure which rose by 1,784 over the period.

Cumulative case counts include patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.