Covid-19 patients in hospital double in week

The number of Covid-19 patients in local hospitals has more than doubled in the last week, but health chiefs say that the levels remain down on those seen earlier in the year.

Forty seven people are now being treated across the county, up from 22 seven days ago, with six people in intensive care.

Fifteen patients are in York Hospital, two are in Harrogate and 30 are in hospitals operated by South Tees Hospitals Trust, which runs James Cook in Middlesbrough and the Friarge in Northallerton, as North Yorkshire’s coronavirus rate has risen to 259 per 100,000 people with 1,600 new cases in the last week.

In Richmondshire the rate has risen to 283 cases per 100,000 people, with 152 new cases over the seven days to July 4.

Amanda Bloor, NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group’s accountable officer told a meeting of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum yesterday that in January more than 400 coronavirus patients were in hospital in the region.

She said: “The number of positive cases in North Yorkshire and York is rising.

“However, the number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 has remained relatively low at 47.

“If we compare previous months, the last time that the infection rates across North Yorkshire and York was at 300 per 100,000 population was in late January of this year and at the same point in time there were over 400 patients in hospital beds in North Yorkshire, so you can see the difference.

“This does give us confidence that the vaccination program is having the anticipated impact around reducing the risk of death and reducing serious illness, especially where those people have received both doses of the vaccine.”

Mrs Bloor encouraged anyone who has not yet received a dose of the coronavirus vaccine to come forward to get one.