More people are being admitted to Norfolk’s hospitals with coronavirus and more beds are being taken up by Covid patients now than the days before the last national lockdown.
The latest NHS stats show 63 hospital beds occupied by coronavirus patients across Norfolk’s three emergency hospitals on October 26.
That was an increase of 80pc from 35 occupied beds on October 20 and just higher than the 57 recorded in the week leading up to the previous lockdown on March 23.
In Great Yarmouth, an area which has seen several recent outbreaks, 28 patients were occupying beds in the James Paget University Hospital, compared to 15 on March 26.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn had 18 beds occupied by virus patients - three more than before the last lockdown.
Meanwhile 10 fewer beds were taken up by patients with coronavirus in the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital (NNUH) compared to March 26, with 17 on October 26.
But the number of patients admitted with the virus is much higher across all three hospitals, which is expected given the increase in hospital testing.
Only seven patients were officially admitted with the virus between March 19 and March 25, compared with 73 admissions between October 21 and October 27.
Norfolk has seen a record number of coronavirus cases following an outbreak at Cranswick Country Foods in Watton, which reported 248 confirmed cases as of Friday, October 30.
In the last seven days 991 people have tested positive for the virus in the county.
No mass testing was available in the week leading up to the first lockdown, and government data shows 45 positive tests in Norfolk in the seven days up to March 23.
Coronavirus deaths still remain low in Norfolk, as they did in the days leading up to and shortly after the first lockdown was announced.
In the week up to March 23, three virus deaths were recorded in Norfolk.
One patient died at the Queen Elizabeth and two at the NNUH.
The same number of people died in the week leading up to November 1, with two patients dying in the James Paget and one in the Queen Elizabeth.
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