Two more coronavirus patients have died at the James Paget University Hospital, bringing the hospital’s total death toll to 23.

In a statement, the hospital said: “Sadly, we can confirm that two patients who were being cared for at the James Paget University Hospital, and had tested positive for COVID-19, have died.

“The patients who died were a woman in her 90s and a man in his 80s. Both had underlying health conditions.

“Their families have been informed and our thoughts and condolences are with them at this difficult and distressing time.”

Meanwhile, four more deaths were recorded at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, and six more at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn.

Across the county, 87 people being treated for coronavirus have now been confirmed dead - while nationwide figures continue to surge.

The news comes as JPUH Doctor Michael Brooks admitted the hospital could soon be “overwhelmed” by coronavirus cases.

Speaking to BBC News, he said: “We are seeing cases increasing on a day to day basis.

“And though we are coping at the moment and there is still capacity, it’s true that it is filling up rapidly.

Eastern Daily Press: You can now have messages printed out and taken to your loved-one at the James Paget University Hospital via a dedicated email account Photo: Simon StevensYou can now have messages printed out and taken to your loved-one at the James Paget University Hospital via a dedicated email account Photo: Simon Stevens (Image: Archant)

“There is definitely an underlying trepidation that the hospital is going to get overwhelmed.”

Norfolk’s director of Public Health also said that waves of the virus could persist for “up to two years”, but that it was unlikely in the future to ever be as severe as it is now.

Eastern Daily Press: The James Paget Hospital's new 'respiratory A&E' unit. Photo: Simon StevensThe James Paget Hospital's new 'respiratory A&E' unit. Photo: Simon Stevens (Image: Archant)