THE number of coronavirus patients in hospital in Herefordshire has doubled over the last week, latest figures show.

The NHS England data revealed the Wye Valley NHS Trust was caring for 46 coronavirus patients in hospital as of Tuesday (December 22).

That's 20 more than the same day last week, and double the number of beds taken by Covid-19 patients on December 17.

During the week to December 22, the number of coronavirus patients in beds had been rising, with a big rise December 18 and 19 when 12 more beds were taken.

At the Wye Valley NHS Trust there were two people on mechanical ventilators, used for the most seriously ill patients, as of December 22.

That was four fewer than the same time a week before.

The figures also show that 23 new Covid-19 patients were admitted to hospital in Wye Valley NHS Trust in the week to December 20. This was up from 19 in the previous seven days.

Three patients were admitted with Covid-19 from care homes, compared with none the previous week.

It comes after the Government's decision to move Herefordshire back to Tier 2 restrictions from Boxing Day.