There have been a further nine coronavirus deaths recorded at North East hospitals.
It was announced by the Government on Thursday that the UK's overall death toll is now 33,614.
The Department of Health said its figures showed 33,614 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Wednesday, up by 428 from 33,186 the day before.
In the North East, the NHS trust with the highest number of new deaths was County Durham and Darlington, with three.
Here is the breakdown of all deaths in the region by trust:
County Durham and Darlington - 3
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear - 0
Gateshead - 0
Northumbria - 1
South Tyneside and Sunderland - 1
Newcastle - 1
North Tees and Hartlepool - 2
South Tees - 1
Tees Esk and Wear Valleys - 0
Earlier in the day, a test to find out whether people have been infected with coronavirus in the past was approved by health officials and is likely to be rolled out to frontline workers first.
Public Health England (PHE) said the antibody test, developed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche, was a “very positive development” after experts at its Porton Down facility gave it the green light.
The test – which Prime Minister Boris Johnson has previously called a “game-changer” – picks up 100% of cases where somebody has had coronavirus in the past.
Experts believe those who have had Covid-19 develop a degree of immunity, meaning the test could prove a useful tool for helping to ease lockdown restrictions.
Number 10 said the new antibody test would “certainly” be available on the NHS but commercial discussions with Roche are ongoing.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the idea of an “immunity certificate” was still under consideration if science showed that people developed immunity to Covid-19.
Professor John Newton, national coordinator of the UK Coronavirus Testing Programme, said although it was still unclear to what extent the presence of antibodies indicated immunity, the test was a “very positive development”.
He added: “Last week, scientific experts at PHE Porton Down carried out an independent evaluation of the new Roche Sars-CoV-2 serology assay in record time, concluding that it is a highly specific assay with specificity of 100%.
“This is a very positive development because such a highly specific antibody test is a very reliable marker of past infection.
“This in turn may indicate some immunity to future infection, although the extent to which the presence of antibodies indicates immunity remains unclear.”
