Covid-19: Hospital patients in London up by almost 90% in a month, NHS data shows

Covid-19hospitalpatients in London have risen by almost 90% in a month, NHSdata has shown.

It comes as the total number of Covid patients in hospital reached its highest level in months.

Hospitals in London had 790 patients the week of October 4, which was a rise of 86.8% compared to the 423 of a month earlier.

In early September, there were 423 Covid-19 patients in London hospitals, which rose to 458, then 600, then 738, before reaching 790.

Patients are counted who are either admitted due to the virus or are diagnosed with it while in hospital.

While nine London hospitals had more than two thirds, or 539, of the capital’s Covid cases.

These were Imperial, Epsom and St Helier, Whittington Health, King’s College, St George’s, Lewisham and Greenwich, Royal Free London, London North West and Barts Hospitals.

English hospitals saw a total of 10,608 as of October 12, the highest figure since July, while weekly hospital admissions have doubled in three weeks, the NHS figures show.

And the number of patients on ventilators is also climbing, with 224 patients on ventilators on October 11, the highest figure since August 9.

Speaking last week, Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said Covid-19 case rates were “at their highest level in months”.

She said: “Outbreaks in hospitals and care homes are also on the rise.

“Make sure you have any Covid-19 vaccines you are eligible for and avoid contact with others if you feel unwell or have symptoms of a respiratory infection.

“If you’re unwell, it is particularly important to avoid contact with elderly people or those more likely to have severe disease because of ongoing health conditions.

“If you have symptoms of a respiratory infection, wearing a face covering will help stop infections spreading.”

The Omicron subvariant BA.5 is still the dominant variant of Covid in the UK, the UKHSA said, but three other ‘subvariants’, BQ.X, BA.2.75.2, and BF.7, seem to be gaining ground.

And Professor Martin Michaelis, professor of molecular medicine, told NationalWorld they seemed “better at bypassing pre-existing immunity from vaccines and infections than BA.5”.

An estimated one in 50 people in England and Wales have Covid-19, according to the latest modelling released on Friday, October 7, by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).