The location of every new Covid death at Yorkshire hospitals as total rises by 35

It brings the total number of coronavirus patients to have died at hospital in Yorkshire to 6,064.

Deaths were recorded where a patient either tested positive for Covid-19 or where no positive test result was received for Covid-19, but Covid-19 was mentioned on their death certificate.

NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death at hospitals in England, often including previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago.

Deaths were recorded at the following hospital trusts:

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust - 1

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - 3

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - 4

Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - 3

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust - 1

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - 6

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust - 3

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust - 6

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - 4

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - 4

Across all English hospitals, a further 376 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths recorded in hospitals to 51,813.

It comes as pressure mounts on the Government to keep the majority of pupils out of class and to switch to remote education.

Gildersome Primary School in Leeds has been forced to shut to most children indefinitely after 16 staff signed a letter saying they are “exercising their right not to teach full classes”.

But Leeds City Council has said it is supporting schools to stay open where staff are heeding union advice not to go in due to coronavirus fears.

Boris Johnson said the argument for keeping schools open was “powerful” and one of the things he looks back on with the greatest misgivings was closing primary schools in the first wave of the pandemic.

His comments came as a coalition of education unions warned that bringing all pupils back to school could fuel the pandemic and put teachers at “serious risk” of falling ill amid the new variant of Covid-19.

The Government’s “chaotic” handling of the opening of schools has caused confusion for parents and teachers, according to a joint statement from unions representing school staff and headteachers.

All of London’s primary schools and those in some surrounding areas worst hit by Covid-19 will not reopen until January 18, with students elsewhere in England expected to return to class this week.

Mr Johnson has insisted that schools are safe as he said that closing primary schools was a “last resort”.

The Prime Minister said: “The risk to teachers, and of course we will do everything we can to protect teachers, but the risk to teachers is no greater than it is to anyone else.

“The reasons for wanting to keep schools open I think are very, very powerful.”

It came as the Conservative former health secretary Jeremy Hunt called for the closure of schools “right away” as he warned that the pressures facing hospitals are “off-the-scale worse” than previous winter crises.

Early findings from a small study carried out in November suggested that the proportion of schoolchildren and teachers with coronavirus mirrors the proportion in the local community.

The study of 105 schools, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last month, found that 1.24% of pupils and 1.29% of staff overall tested positive for current infection – similar to the 1.2% reported in the community.

But no data or major study has been published since the new strain of coronavirus came to light.

The NAHT school leaders’ union is calling on the Government to disclose scientific evidence regarding the impact of the new Covid-19 variant on schools.

NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman said: “NAHT began legal proceedings last Friday to force the government to reveal the scientific data it is withholding that underpin its assertions that schools are safe. We remain unconvinced, and we await the Government’s reply, which is due at 4pm today.”

The NAHT – alongside the National Education Union (NEU), the NASUWT teachers’ union, GMB, Unison and Unite – have called for a move to remote learning for most pupils amid safety concerns.

All staff continuing to work in schools with vulnerable pupils and children of key workers should be given priority access to Covid-19 vaccinations, the coalition of unions adds.

A joint statement says: “Bringing all pupils back into classrooms while the rate of infection is so high is exposing education sector workers to serious risk of ill-health and could fuel the pandemic.”

The education unions are calling on the Prime Minister to order a “pause” in a return to the classroom until the safety of staff and pupils can be guaranteed.

They say Boris Johnson should sit down with unions to “discuss a joint approach” to ensure schools are safe, and pupils have the equipment they need to receive remote learning.

But Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News that it is “clear that the proportion of teachers who catch coronavirus is no higher than the rest of the population”.

He added: “So there is clear public health advice behind the position that we have taken and that is what people should follow because, of course, education is very important as well, especially for people’s long-term health.”