A further three patients being treated for coronavirus at a Norfolk hospital have died.

As of Friday, the number of people who have died at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston rose to nine, following the confirmation three patients, two men and a woman, had died after testing positive.

In a statement the hospital said: “The patients who died were a man in his 90s, a woman in her 80s and a man in his 70s. All three patients had underlying health conditions. Their families have been informed and our thoughts and condolences are with them at this difficult and distressing time.”

Figures have also been updated to show a further four people have died at the Norfolk at Norwich University Hospital.

Thirty-eight people in Norfolk have died after testing positive for the virus, with 17 cases at the NNUH, 12 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn and nine at the JPUH.

Public Health England announced a further 18 positive cases in Norfolk, taking the county’s total to 225.

It comes as the number of people who have died from coronavirus in the UK surpassed 3,600.

Read more: Six more coronavirus deaths in Norfolk as UK reaches new record for testingThe Department of Health announced the number of deaths in the UK has increased by 684 to 3,605, the highest day on day increase.

In a statement, NHS England said: “Patients were aged between 24 and 100 years old. Thirty-four of the 604 patients (aged between 27 and 92 years old) had no known underlying health condition.”

To date 173,784 people have been tested, with 38,168 positive.

Following today’s figures, the UK is now more than 1,000 deaths worse off than Italy at the same stage and the gap continues to increase.

The government also reached 11,764 tests, a record high.

Read more: Six more coronavirus deaths in Norfolk as UK reaches new record for testing

On Thursday, health secretary Matt Hancock announced the government’s aim to reach 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, and launched a new five step testing approach.

Mr Hancock said: “Of course increasing the amount of tests is mission critical, and I have just announced that we’re going to accelerate that, but we have hit the target that we set at the start which was 10,000 tests a day by the end of March.”

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