Two more Isle of Wight hospital patients have died after contracting Covid-19.

A further three people have died in the Isle of Wight's community since the start of 2022.

The two Islanders who died on St Mary's wards, on February 5, have been included in the latest government data, released this lunchtime (Tuesday).

In January, 17 hospital patients died here, making it one of the worst months since the pandemic started.

Since the start of the year,  one care home resident has also died, along with two people who were being cared for at a hospice.

It means 382 deaths on the Isle of Wight have now been linked to Covid-19, since March 2020.

Meanwhile, a steep climb in the Isle of Wight's average cases per 100,000 people over seven days can be explained by a change in the way the government is recording infections.

Before February 1, Islanders who tested positive twice were only counted once.

Now, a second infection is counted separately, as long as it has been 90 days since the previous infection.

Yesterday, there were 166 new Covid positives on the Island and an update is due at 4pm.