Gloucestershire coronavirus cases rising sharply as Tier review looms
Coronavirus cases are rising in Gloucestershire, with the county now one of the worst affected places in the South West.
Positive cases have risen dramatically in just one day - with 58 new cases. Figures show there have been more than 160 hospital admissions in the city.
The chief executive of the NHS Trust which runs both Cheltenham and Gloucestershire hospitals is urging people to "take every possible precaution to help reduce community transmission" asking people to "think carefully" about their Christmas plans.
The county is currently under Tier 2 restrictions, but the Government is set to review which area should be in which tier areas should be in on 16 December.
Gloucestershire's hospitals are under pressure, as they are treating 25 per cent more coronavirus patients now than they were at the peak of the first wave.
NHS staff needing to take time off sick or to self-isolate due to coronavirus is also adding pressure to the county.
The latest sickness figures available, which cover 2 December, show Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had 131 staff members off while .
Gloucestrershire Health Care NHS Foundation Trust - community nurses, workers and mental health workers - had 220 staff members who were unable to work.
Deborah Lee, Chief Executive of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Over the past few weeks we've continued to see rapidly rising numbers of Covid-19 positive patients, and presently are caring for 186 people in our hospitals.
"This number of Covid patients is 25 per cnet higher than at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic and this increase, alongside considerably higher levels of non-Covid activity, than we had in the first wave is putting both of our hospitals and staff under considerable pressure."
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