Seven further deaths from Covid-19 within Morecambe Bay hospitals

Among the numbers recorded in the last seven days, seven people died over the weekend, and a further seven on both Monday and Wednesday, bringing the total number recorded at hospitals run by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust (UHMBT) to 474.

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.

These figures do not include deaths outside hospital, such as those in care homes.

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 January 26 is 206.

The total number of deaths where Covid-19 is mentioned as a cause on the death certificate, registered up to Friday January 15, is 195.

The total number of people with a positive Covid-19 virus test (either lab-reported or lateral flow device) reported up to Tuesday January 26 in the Lancaster region is 7,795.

As of Tuesday January 19, there were 167 patients in UHMBT hospitals being treated for Covid-19, 21 of which were on ventilators.

Since the start of the pandemic, as of Sunday January 17, UHMBT has treated 1,408 people for the virus.

Meanwhile, a new mass vaccination centre opened at Lancaster Town Hall on Monday with the aim of vaccinating up to 1,000 people a day.

This is in addition to smaller vaccination centres at Lancaster University and the Mazuma Stadium in Morecambe.