'We are going in the wrong direction': Covid-19 admissions at Sheffield hospitals TRIPLE

There are now 68 people with Covid-19 being cared for by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Royal Hallamshire and Northern General hospitals – up from around 20 three weeks ago.

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That is still many fewer than were being treated at the peak of the pandemic in March and April but the upward trend has medics worried.

Dr Anne Tunbridge, consultant in infectious diseases at the trust, said: "We are seeing a steady increase in patients with Covid-19 needing to be admitted to hospital, and over the past three weeks the numbers have risen from around 20 to 68. We have also seen a small increase in patients needing intensive care.

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"We are not yet anywhere near the numbers we saw in March and April, and the rise in cases is not as quick as before, but this steady increase is a warning sign that we are going in the wrong direction and we are urging everyone to follow the advice of wash your hands regularly, keep your distance from others, respect the rule of six and wear a mask.

"We have an amazing team here and have all the plans in place to respond to this current increase in cases. We also know more about the virus this time, have new treatments available and have had the opportunity to re-organise our services to be able to try and keep non Covid-19 care and operations going safely.

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"But to do this we need the public to help us and do their bit to reduce potential transmission of this virus. There is only one way to beat this and it needs all of us to play our part. We know that it does make a difference.”

The trust said the average age of those now being treated is similar to that back in April.

A total of 2,329 people across Sheffield tested positive for coronavirus during the seven days to October 5, the latest date for which reliable figures are available – giving a weekly infection rate of 398.3 new cases per 100,000 people.