Anglia region records highest daily Covid death toll in hospitals since the start of pandemic

Ambulances outside an entrance to Southend University hospital in Essex. Hospitals in the county have declared a major incident and local authorities, concerned about the number of Covid-19 cases, have asked for military help to increase hospital capacity, with fears over critical care, bed capacity and staff sickness.

The NHS has reported a further 145 patients have died with coronavirus in hospitals in the Anglia region - the highest daily figure since the pandemic started.

Previously the highest number of patient deaths reported in a single day was 129 on 9 April 2020.

Although the NHS reports the number of patients dying in the region every day, the figure often including deaths which have occurred over a number of the preceding days especially with delays in reporting over the Christmas period.

The East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Trust, which runs the hospitals in Ipswich and Colchester, reported 22 deaths in the latest 24 hour period. There were 13 deaths at Southend Hospital and 11 at Basildon Hospital.

So far in January, 570 patients have died with Covid-19 in hospitals in the Anglia region and there were 1,355 deaths in December.

Dozens of families lost loved ones on Christmas Day when 59 patients died.

The number of coronavirus deaths in each county in the Anglia region during the pandemic Credit: Data from the NHS, Care Quality Commission and the Office of National Statistics

The National Health Service in the country and the region is under intense pressure with more than double the number of Covid patients being treated in this wave of the pandemic than during the peak in spring 2020.

There were 4,013 patients being treated for coronavirus in hospitals in the East of England on Friday, which is 2,300 more than at the highest point of the first wave in April.

Currently around 400 people a day are being admitted to hospitals in the region.