Coronavirus: 22 deaths confirmed in Dorset hospitals

NHS England has confirmed 22 more people have died with Covid-19 in the county’s hospitals.

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It means a total of 417 people have died with the virus in hospitals across Dorset since the start of the pandemic.

Of the latest 22 deaths, the University Hospitals Dorset Trust recorded 18.

Two people died at UHD with the virus on January 12, seven died on January 11, three on January 10, five on January 8 and one on January 7.

A total of 339 people have died with Covid-19 at UHD since the start of the pandemic.

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Two people died at the Dorset County Hospital, on January 12 and January 11 respectively, taking the hospital’s total to 40.

And two people died under the care of the Dorset Healthcare Trust, on January 7 and January 5, taking the total to 38.

Nationally, 1,012 people died in hospital with coronavirus, taking England’s total to 57,828.

Patients were aged between 39 and 102-years-old and all but 46 had underlying health conditions.

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The death date back to May 8, with the majority coming after January 6 and 49 came in the south west.

It comes after BCP council bosses said the threat from Covid-19 had never been greater in the local area, with infections doubling every five days within the conurbation.

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Cllr Nicola Greene, BCP member for public health, said: “Covid-19 is currently spreading in our local area at an alarming rate.

“As a community we must act to stop the spread of this deadly virus and the simplest action we can all take is to stay at home.

“Transmission between households is now the primary way in which Covid-19 is spreading in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, so we must not visit others or allow others into our homes if we are to stop the spread.

“Our local hospitals are seeing a record number of patients with Covid-19, including in the under 60s age group, with many very seriously ill on ventilators.”

And while prime minister Boris Johnson promised 24/7 vaccinations, he said the limit is currently on supply, with 233 hospitals, 1,000 GP surgeries, 200 pharmacies and 50 mass vaccination centres going “exceptionally fast”.