HOSPITALS in Herefordshire are treating fewer coronavirus patients this week after an 11-month high earlier in the month, figures show.

With visiting restrictions still in place at Wye Valley NHS Trust hospitals, including Hereford County Hospital, the number of patients has dropped by nine over the last week.

On December 24, the number of patients with Covid at the trust had fallen to a four-month low of seven, but three weeks later on Tuesday (January 11) that number had hit 46 – the highest since February 2020.

Then on January 18 that had fallen to 36, and the latest figures show that had fallen again to 27 on January 25.

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As the number of patients in hospitals appears to be falling, the infection rate is heading in the opposite direction.

In the latest figures, 2,209 people in Herefordshire tested positive for coronavirus – a third more than the week before.

The infection rate on Tuesday stood at 1,140.0 cases per 100,00 people – higher than the UK average of 940.

Herefordshire Council's acting director of public health Dr Rebecca Howell-Jones shared concerns earlier this month about the number of cases being underreported.

She said: "While it is likely that there is a real decrease in the number of overall cases in Herefordshire, the changes in policy around PCR confirmatory testing may also mean fewer cases have been reported."

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The latest hospital figures from NHS England also showed that 20 Covid patients were admitted to hospital in Herefordshire in the week to Sunday, January 23.

The week before, that number was 19, and a fortnight before it was 28.

The figures, published on the Government website, showed there was one patient in a mechanical ventilation bed on Tuesday, which are used for the most seriously ill.

That was up from none the week before.