THE number of patients in hospital with Covid in mid and south Essex has risen sharply in the last week.

NHS England data shows the number of people being treated in hospital for Covid-19 as of Tuesday was 44 compared to 34 on the same day the previous week.

There were just eight beds occupied by Covid-19 patients four weeks ago in Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

The number of Covid patients being cared for by the East Suffolk and North Essex Trust, which operates Colchester and Ipswich hospitals, doubled from 13 to 26 during the same period.

Across England there were 3,894 people in hospital with Covid as of July 20, with 544 of them in mechanical ventilation beds.

The number of Covid-19 patients hospitalised nationally almost trebled in the last four weeks, while the number on mechanical ventilators more than doubled, increasing by 140 per cent.

The figures also show 54 new Covid patients were admitted to hospital in the Mid and South Essex Trust in the week to July 18.

That was up from 35 in the previous seven days.

Thirty new Covid patients were admitted in the East Suffolk and North Essex Trust – up from 17 in the previous seven days.