THE number of patients being treated in the county’s hospitals for Covid has started returning to levels last seen six months ago as cases continue to rise.

A total of 64 beds were occupied by Covid patients in Worcestershire on November 5 according to the latest NHS figures.

Seven of the people in hospital with Covid were using a ventilator.

The last time the number of occupied beds was that high among Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust was in May.

Figures show there was a sharp increase in Covid patients being admitted to hospital towards the end of October with eight people admitted in the last two weeks.

Six of the people were admitted in the week up to November 4.

An average of 21 beds were occupied by Covid patients throughout October – around three per cent of all beds.

The number of beds occupied by Covid patients was in single figures from the first week of July until late September before hitting 10 beds on September 29.

A total of 20 beds were occupied by Covid patients in Worcestershire on October 18 before reaching 50 beds on October 31.

The highest average number of hospital beds occupied by Covid patients during a month in Worcestershire was 110 in April.

Data shows a total of 141 beds were being used by Covid patients on April 6 – the highest figure seen in the county on one day so far. On the same day in April, 20 of those patients were using beds with ventilators.

An average of 22 hospital beds were being used in June compared to 54 beds in May and 39 beds in March.

Four people with Covid-19 were admitted to Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust in September, according to data, with one person admitted in August, two people were admitted in July and six people were admitted in June.

A total of 44 people with coronavirus were admitted to hospital in May with 25 people admitted in April.

One person was admitted to hospital between March 19 and March 31.

A total of 872 people have been diagnosed with Covid at the county’s hospitals between March 19 and November 4, according to the data.

A total of 670 people were discharged from Worcestershire’s hospitals having been treated for coronavirus in the months up to November with a total of 170 people admitted to hospital with Covid during the same period.