HOSPITALS are preparing themselves for a “rising tide” of Covid admissions over the next three weeks across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
The head of infection protection control at University Hospitals Dorset Trust (UHD), Paul Bolton, said the rise in cases is putting “a lot of pressure” on hospitals which will likely be coping with demand until the middle of May.
The number of people in hospital with Covid in Dorset increased from 80 to 131 last week.
Mr Bolton said: “Whilst the worst of the pandemic appears to have gone past us - in that people are surviving with Covid and aren’t needing critical care and the number of people requiring critical care has reduced and the number of people dying is reducing - it’s still present, it’s still there.
“It’s still a virus that we are vulnerable to and we need to be really thoughtful about the decisions we make in terms of who we spend a long time with, what precautions we take and where we do that.”
The number of people becoming seriously ill with Covid and requiring hospital treatment continues to be predominantly the unvaccinated population.
“We are still seeing the unvaccinated population suffering worst when they are infected with Covid.
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“The number of people who remain vulnerable and unexposed has rapidly reduced because the large majority of us have been exposed, so even if you’ve not been vaccinated you will have some immunity.
“But that will wane over time and we’ll see them coming back in again.
“The majority of people that we’re seeing that are unwell are the vulnerable and unvaccinated.”
As Easter fast approaches, UHD has urged people to be “selective” about where they meet others, to think about wearing a mask in certain situations and be “considerate of others”.
Mr Bolton said: “Yes we’ve dropped all the laws and legislation around this but actually we’re still a human population that wants to do the best for our common man and woman.
“So what we do around when we’ve got symptoms could have a real knock-on effect for other people and choosing to wear a mask might be the right choice.”
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