Cause for hope as Lancaster Covid infection rate drops dramatically

The number of people who have passed away in Morecambe Bay hospitals in the last week after contracting coronavirus has also dropped dramatically, with three fatalities compared with 12 over the previous seven days.

There have now been a total of 572 deaths from Covid-19 recorded at hospitals run by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust (UHMBT).

The deaths are recorded when someone has died after testing positive for coronavirus within the last 28 days at UHMBT hospitals, with the numbers roughly split between the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Furness General Hospital in Barrow.

Meanwhile, in the Lancaster City Council region itself, the total number of deaths within 28 days of first positive test result for Covid-19 reported up to Tuesday March 9 is 282.

The total number of deaths where Covid-19 is mentioned as a cause on the death certificate, registered up to Friday February 26, is 315.

The total number of people with a positive Covid-19 virus test (either lab-reported or lateral flow device) reported up to Tuesday March 9 in the Lancaster region is 9,139.

Of those, 58 people in Lancaster reported positive Covid tests in the seven days up to March 9 (a reduction of 81 or 58.3 per cent on the previous week) - and the city currently has an infection rate of 43.1 based on a rolling seven-day period up to March 5 - a drop from 115.7 for the previous seven days.

This is based on the number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, and compares with an England average of 60.8.

Since the start of the pandemic, as of Sunday February 28, UHMBT has treated 1,888 people for the virus.

As of Tuesday March 2, there were 95 patients in UHMBT hospitals being treated for Covid-19, five of which were on ventilators.