MORE THAN 9OO
COVID PATIENTS ADMITTED TO OUR HOSPITALS SINCE THE SUMMER
MORE than 900 coronavirus patients have been admitted to northern Lincolnshire hospitals since the summer. The majority of those - around 700 - recovered and were discharged. The government figures reveal that 933 Covid patients have been admitted since reporting began in August. In that time, around 220 deaths were reported by local hospitals, suggesting that roughly 710 have recovered.
However, the shocking numbers also show the severe strain put on the NHS over Christmas as the third lockdown begins.
Over the course of seven days, 101 patients either came into hospital with Covid or were diagnosed with it there in Grimsby, Scunthorpe or Goole hospitals.
Tuesday, December 22 also saw the worst recorded influx of patients for any day in the pandemic, with 25 new hospital cases.
On Christmas Day, as coronavirus restrictions were loosened to allow families to celebrate together, staff had to deal with 17 new Covid-positive patients.
The NHS England figures represent all northern Lincolnshire hospitals, although the vast majority of patients were at Grimsby and Scunthorpe. Despite the severe demands, the number of patients being treated has gradually decreased across the region. Forty-two patients were being treated in Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital on Tuesday morning, and 58 were in Scunthorpe General Hospital. However, as cases start to rise both nationally and locally, hospitals’ caseloads could easily rise again today. Justifying the third lockdown in a public address, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that hospital patients have increased quickly in a post-Christmas surge.
This is being attributed to the new strain of coronavirus which is more contagious, as well as the lapse in social distancing over Christmas.
“Our hospitals are under more pressure from Covid than at any time since the start of the pandemic,” Mr Johnson said.
“In England alone, the number of Covid patients in hospitals has increased by nearly a third in the last week, to almost 27,000. That number is 40 per cent higher than the first peak in April.”
He expressed hope that the tough new lockdown would be enough to bring new cases back under control while the vaccination programme is able to protect the most vulnerable.