Another Covid death at Hereford hospital as patient numbers rise

NHS England figures showed 229 people had died in hospital at Wye Valley NHS Trust as of 5pm on Wednesday (July 14), with one death reported.

It was the first coronavirus-related death at the trust, which runs Hereford County Hospital, since April 14.

The victims were among 18,151 deaths recorded across the midlands, which is the worst affected of England's seven NHS regions.

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Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death.

This means some of the deaths that were first recorded in the latest period may actually have taken place days earlier.

NHS England guidance states: "Confirmation of Covid-19 diagnosis, death notification and reporting in central figures can take up to several days and the hospitals providing the data are under significant operational pressure."

Only deaths that occur in hospitals where the patient has tested positive for Covid-19 are recorded, with deaths in the community excluded, such as those in care homes.

Separate figures from NHS England showed that four coronavirus patients were being treated at the Wye Valley Trust on Tuesday (July 13).

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That was up from one on the same day the previous week, and the highest number since the end of March.

It was, however, significantly lower than the 117 patients at the height of the second wave in January.

As of Tuesday, two people were on mechanical ventilators, used for the most seriously ill patients.

That was the most on a mechanical ventilator since March 1, but again, was lower than a peak of eight in January.

The number of recorded coronavirus cases in Herefordshire increased by 87 in the last 24 hours, official figures showed.

Public Health England figures showed that 8,034 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Thursday (July 15) in Herefordshire, up from 7,947 the same time on Wednesday.

The Covid infection rate for Herefordshire was rising as a result of the new cases, creeping above 100 for the first time in several months.

The rate of new cases in the seven days to July 11 was 123.4 per 100,000 people as 238 cases were found, up from 99.1 in the week to July 4.