Zero patients with Omicron at Chesterfield Royal Hospital

Shortly before noon on Tuesday, a hospital spokesperson said staff were looking after 27 people with Covid-19 – seven of whom were receiving critical care.

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“We have no Omicron here,” they added.

For context, two weeks ago, there were 35 patients with coronavirus at the Royal – six of whom were in intensive care.

The hospital has now recorded a total of 494 deaths linked to the virus.

According to official data, 456 people had a confirmed positive test result for coronavirus in Chesterfield in the seven days to December 13. This was a decrease of 1.3 per cent compared to the previous seven days. On December 13, zero deaths were reported in Chesterfield within 28 days of a positive test for coronavirus.

In North East Derbyshire, 470 people received a confirmed positive test result in the seven days to December 13, up 1.5 per cent compared to the previous week. There were zero deaths in North East Derbyshire within 28 days of a positive test for coronavirus reported on December 13.

While in Bolsover, 342 people had a confirmed positive test result in the seven days to December 13, an increase of 21.7 per cent compared with the previous week. On December 13, zero deaths were reported in Bolsover within 28 days of a positive test for coronavirus.

The total number of deaths registered across Derbyshire county and Derby city where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate currently stands at 3,259.

In terms of positive tests nationally, 54,661 were reported in the UK on Monday – up week-on-week from 51,459.

Derbyshire’s director of public health, Dean Wallace, has urged people to be ‘vigilant’ amid concern Omicron spreads more easily than previous variants of the virus.

He said there was much uncertainty about Omicron – but vaccination remained the best protection against all variants of Covid-19.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned of a ‘tidal wave of Omicron’ in a televised address on Sunday as he set new target to offer Covid-19 boosters to all adults who want one by the end of December.

On Tuesday, the Government said there were 10 people in hospital with Omicron in the UK.

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