THE number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus in Dorset is steadying, latest figures show.

Latest figures from NHS England show that hospitalisations across Dorset have declined in the last week.

There were 53 people admitted to hospitals in the county in the seven days up to August 8 - up from 46 in the previous week.

In Bournemouth and Poole, 48 people were admitted to University Hospitals Dorset Trust between August 2 and August 8.

A further four people were also admitted to Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester in the same week.

Meanwhile, figures show just one patient was admitted to the Dorset Healthcare Trust (DHT) during the same one-week period.

As of August 10, there were 31 people occupying a hospital bed with the virus in University Hospitals Dorset - down from 35 the previous week.

There were four patients at Dorset County Hospital occupying a bed and two at University Hospitals Dorset Trust.

As part of its weekly update, Public Dorset said: COVID-19 case rates remain high across Dorset. We have seen a small decrease in the case rate for BCP Council since last week, but it remains significantly above the averages for the South West and England. Dorset Council's case rate has continued to increase and is similar to the average rate for England.

“The number of people in hospitals in Dorset with COVID-19 is lower than last week, although we do see day-to-day fluctuations due to admissions and discharges, so we will continue to monitor the overall trend closely. Sadly, we are seeing a small number of weekly deaths due to COVID-19, although deaths remain at much lower levels than in previous waves of the pandemic.”

Across England, 5,096 people were occupying a hospital bed with coronavirus and 349 in the south west.

Of people needing mechanical ventilation, five patients at the University Hospitals Dorset Trust required a ventilator, one person required a ventilator at Dorset County Hospital and no patients at the Dorset Healthcare Trust needed mechanical ventilation.

Across England, 782 patients needed a ventilator and 51 people in the south west with coronavirus required a ventilator.