12 more Covid deaths in Cornwall in last week
THERE have been 12 Covid-19 deaths at Cornwall’s hospitals in the past seven days, NHS England data shows.
The latest fatalities were recorded at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT), which runs three hospitals – the Royal Cornwall Hospital, West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance and St Michael’s at Hayle.
Two of the deaths occurred on October 31, two on November 2, four on November 4, one on November 5 and three on November 6.
It now means 267 Covid-related deaths have been recorded at the RCHT since the start of the pandemic and 331 across all of Cornwall’s hospitals, including the community hospitals run by the Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust.
It comes as frontline NHS workers and social care staff are told they will need to have Covid-19 vaccinations in England to continue in their jobs.
In a Commons statement, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said there is no doubt that health and social care staff “carry a unique responsibility” in the work they do and “we must avoid preventable harm”.
He said only those who do not have face-to-face contact with patients or who are medically exempt will not be required to have two doses of a Covid jab, with enforcement of the rule from April 1 next year.
The decision applies to health and wider social care settings that are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Staff will not be required to have a winter flu vaccination, though the option remains under review, Mr Javid added.
Care home workers in England have already been told they must be fully vaccinated by the deadline of today.
Mr Javid told MPs the decision to make Covid-19 vaccines compulsory for NHS staff does not mean the Government does not recognise concerns about “workforce pressures” this winter.
He added: “Allow me to be clear that no-one in the NHS or care that is currently unvaccinated should be scapegoated, singled out or shamed.
“That would be totally unacceptable. This is about supporting them to make a positive choice to protect vulnerable people, to protect their colleagues. And themselves.”