Number of Covid-19 patients in Chesterfield Royal Hospital continues to fall

At around 4.30pm on Wednesday, staff at the Royal were caring for 44 people with the virus – 10 of whom were in intensive care.

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At the end of last week, there were 48 Covid-19 patients in the hospital and 13 of these needed intensive care.

Chesterfield Royal Hospital spokesperson Sarah Turner-Saint said the trust had recorded a total of 196 deaths related to the virus since the end of March.

Derbyshire entered Tier 3 restrictions on Wednesday when the four-week national lockdown ended.

According to the latest available data, there were 134 cases of Covid-19 in Chesterfield between November 22 and November 28, down 53 compared with the previous week.

The infection rate for the latest period was 128 cases per 100,000 people. The average area in England had 127. The area’s infection rate the previous week was 157 per 1000,000 people.

In North East Derbyshire, there were 128 cases of Covid-19 between November 22 and November 28, down 112 compared with the previous week.

North East Derbyshire had an infection rate of 126 cases per 100,000 people for the latest period.

In Bolsover, there were 150 cases of Covid-19 between November 22 and November 28, down 93 compared with the previous week.

That area had an infection rate of 186 cases per 100,000 people for the latest period.

Under Tier 3 rules, people can only meet other households in outdoor public spaces like parks, where the rule of six applies.

Non-essential shops, gyms and close-contact beauty services like hairdressers are able to open – but in Tier 3, pubs and restaurants can only operate as a takeaway or delivery service.

The Government will review the tiers on December 16.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “We must all continue to play our part and abide by the restrictions to continue to slow the spread of the virus, reduce pressure on the NHS and protect the most vulnerable.

“In doing so we can lower infection rates and hopefully move to a lower tier in time.”

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