THE number of coronavirus patients at Herefordshire's hospital is at its lowest point since mid-December, latest figures reveal.

The NHS England statistics show the number of patients at the Wye Valley NHS Trust has fallen for the third week in a row.

Public health chiefs said it's good news to see the number of people with coronavirus in hospital is falling.

In January the number of patients being treated for coronavirus at the Wye Valley NHS Trust peaked at 117 on January 19 – the most ever on one day.

But as of 8am on Tuesday (February 9), three weeks after the peak, the number of patients had fallen to 32, according to NHS England figures published on Thursday.

It means the number of patients being cared for had fallen by 12 from 44 over the week.

It's the lowest number of patients at the trust, which runs Hereford County Hospital, since 26 on December 18.

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The number of people on mechanical ventilators, used for the most seriously ill coronavirus patients, had risen over the week to Tuesday.

On Tuesday, four patients were on mechanical ventilators, up two compared to February 2.

During the week, the number in ventilated beds had peaked at eight on February 6.

In the seven-days to January 31, 13 Covid-19 patients were admitted and diagnosed with coronavirus at the Wye Valley NHS Trust.

This compares to 47 the previous week.

Herefordshire's public health director Rebecca Howell-Jones said: "In terms of the data around Covid cases in hospital, that's coming down.

"We've seen community cases coming down and community transmission, and that's now starting to come through in terms of hospital cases coming down which is really great news."