Midweek Sport

WARDS OF DEATH

Thousands died after they caught COVID in hospital

- By COLIN HURST news@sundayspor­t.co.uk

MORE than 11,600 people died after catching COVID19 in NHS hospitals, shock new data reveals.

Thousands of people who went into hospitals for unrelated treatment ended up contractin­g coronaviru­s and dying.

Figures from a new study show that 11,688 people who died on wards are likely to have caught COVID-19 in hospitals.

Shocking

It’s been called a “scandal” by MPs and Jeremy Hunt, chairman of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, feels it is more evidence to show that health workers must be vaccinated.

It comes as separate data shows the number of COVID-19 cases in the UK has fallen by nearly a quarter in just a week.

Referring to the hospital deaths, Mr Hunt said: “These numbers are truly shocking.

“Hospital infections have been the deadliest silent killer of the pandemic.

“It surely only strengthen­s the case for mandatory vaccinatio­n for all frontline healthcare staff.”

The report comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged those eligible to book their booster vaccinatio­ns.

He told broadcaste­rs during a visit to a hospital in Hexham, in the North East: “I’m here to look at what we’re doing to encourage people to get their booster jabs and that is the single most important thing the Government can do at the present time. Sadly, what you’ve got at the moment is a situation in which the waning of the original two jabs is starting to see too many elderly people getting into hospital.

“Sadly, the jabs do wane. We’ve done 10 million booster jabs already and it’s a very effective thing.

Booster

“It’s a wonderful thing, you get 95% more protection, so I’m encouragin­g everybody today to go online if you’ve gone over five months, you can go online and book.”

The NHS has opened bookings for those needing a booster if five months have passed since their second dose so they can have a top-up jab at the six-month point.

The number of coronaviru­s cases in the UK has fallen by nearly a quarter in just a week.

A further 32,322 positive tests were recorded on Monday, down 24% from 40,077 seven days previously.

But a further 57 people lost their lives to COVID-19, up from 40 seven days ago.

Over the past seven days 1,191 have died after catching the virus, up 8% in a week.

The number of COVID cases after a positive test is falling, with 30,305 recorded on Sunday, pushing the number of confirmed infections in the country above 9,300,000.

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