Coronavirus infection rates across Devon fall by 25% as hospitals reintroduce restrictions

Hospitals now have restrictions PA images.
Hospitals now have restrictions for patients and visitors across Devon. Credit: PA images.

Coronavirus cases have fallen in almost every part of Devon but infection rates in the region still remain higher than the national average.

The latest government figures for the seven days leading up to Thursday, August 26 show how infections in the Devon area had dropped by around 25%.

This is despite the number of cases in Plymouth increasing by around 11%, giving the area a rate of 540 cases per 100,000 people. The UK average is 355 cases per 100,000 people.

The next highest Covid rates in the county are in Torbay, Teignbridge and Mid Devon with just over 480 per 100,000 in each area.

Elsewhere, Exeter and West Devon recorded the biggest falls in cases at around 30%. Infections in North Devon, East Devon and the South Hams also reduced by more than a quarter.

The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, where Alfie was rushed to and now receives his transfusions. Credit: ITV West Country

It comes as the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust announced that it would be reintroducing restrictions for a number of people visiting hospitals across the region.

These changes to the rules in hospitals follows the sharp rise in coronavirus cases across the area in recent months.

In a statement on its website, the trust said: "Due to the rise in COVID-19 cases across Devon, we have taken the difficult decision to update our inpatient visiting restrictions across the Trust.

"We appreciate how hard separation can be for our patients and their families, as well as for our staff, and we have a number of measures in place to ensure contact is maintained.

"These include regular contact from staff to a designated family member, the use of iPads for ‘virtual visiting’ and our patient experience team can receive and pass on letters, drawings and cards from loved ones to patients."

The number of people being admitted to hospital with coronavirus has continued to rise in recent weeks, with 16 more patients than in the previous seven-day period.

There are now 136 patients with the virus in Devon’s hospitals. This remains far lower than the number during the peak in the winter.

The number of adults aged 18 or over who have received at least one dose of a vaccine is now 88 per cent in the Devon County Council area, and the number of people who are fully vaccinated with both jabs is now at 80% in the county.