There were 60 people in hospital with Covid in Worcestershire on December 2, according to the latest government data.

Of those, four people were in ICU beds fitted with a ventilator.

On the same day, there were a total of 1,039 patients in Worcestershire hospitals, meaning confirmed Covid patients took up nearly 6% of the county’s hospital beds.

There is also likely to have been a number of suspected Covid cases included in that overall figure.

The vast majority of Worcestershire’s Covid patients - and all of the Covid patients in ICU - were in hospitals run by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. These include Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital and Kidderminster Hospital.

Two Covid patients were being cared for at hospitals run by Worcestershire Health and Care Trust, which covers Malvern Community Hospital, Pershore Community Hospital, Princess of Wales Community Hospital in Bromsgrove, Evesham Community Hospital, Tenbury Community Hospital, the Wyre Forest Ward in Kidderminster and the Worcester City Inpatient Unit.

Government figures also show there were 670 Covid cases recorded in Worcester in the seven days up to December 15. 

The area of the city with the highest case rate was Northwick, with its 77 cases giving it a case rate (per 100,000 people) of 960.5.

Other Covid hotspots in Worcester include Lyppard Grange with a case rate of 942.9 and King George’s Field with a case rate of 897.

The lowest case rate in Worcester in the week leading up to December 15 was Dines Green and St John's, with a case rate of 309.1.

Up to and including December 19, the number of eligible people in Worcester who had received their first dose of a Covid vaccine stood at 83.1%, while 76.6% of those aged 12 and over had been doubled jabbed.

The NHS said across the UK, more than two thirds of eligible people aged 18 and over had received a booster jab with more than 1.5 million people getting a vaccine top-up at the weekend alone.

Health secretary and Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid said: “I have been absolutely blown away by the public response to our national mission for everyone to Get Boosted Now, with over two-thirds of eligible adults in England now having had their immunity topped up.

“It’s a testament to the incredible work of all of our NHS staff and volunteers. I also couldn’t be more grateful to people across the country for their community spirit in coming forward to secure vital protection for themselves and their loved ones.”