More than 1,100 people have been able to return home from Norfolk hospitals after recovering from coronavirus.

Since March, 1,164 people have been discharged from the county's three hospitals, of which 450 have been at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), 359 at the James Paget (JPUH) in Gorleston and 355 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), in King's Lynn.

As Norfolk prepares to go into Tier 2 when lockdown ends on December 2, hospital bosses said it remained essential the community worked to reduce local coronavirus rates.

NHS figures show the NNUH has 60 beds occupied by Covid patients, five of whom are in mechanical ventilation beds.

The hospital has reported 148 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Eastern Daily Press: People have been urged to follow coronavirus guidelines to ease pressure on Norfolk's hospitals.People have been urged to follow coronavirus guidelines to ease pressure on Norfolk's hospitals. (Image: Archant)

Professor Nancy Fontaine, chief nurse and director of infection control at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, said: “The NHS remains open during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and we would urge patients to continue to attend appointments and seek medical care when they need it."

As of November 23, The QEH has seen 571 cases of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic and recorded 175 coronavirus-related deaths since March.

Staff are currently treating 39 people with Covid 19.

A spokesperson from QEH said: “It’s vital that our local communities continue to follow the Government restrictions in place, including those that come in after 2 December. This will ensure that we can continue to treat everyone who needs our help safely this winter.

“We’d like to thank everyone who has been following the guidance in place - your support is invaluable.”

The JPUH in Gorleston has reported 151 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Anna Hills, told the hospital board meeting on Friday of the actions taken since trusts returned to national incident level four, including the daily meeting of the hospital's tactical and strategic command teams.

The hospital chief executive said; "I really just want to reiterate how challenging it has been in terms of the number of patients we have been seeing in the past few weeks.

"We have had an increase in patients with Covid or Covid like symptoms but we have been able to continue to see and deliver all of our other emergency services, but also all of our planned services and planned operations. That has been a fantastic feat."