Covid rise sees hospitals in Cornwall and Devon ask patients and visitors to go back to masks

Derriford Hospital and the Royal Cornwall Hospital are asking asking visitors to wear facemasks to prevent the spread of the new Covid-19 variant

Two hospitals in the South West have asked patients, staff and visitors to go back to wearing face masks to limit the spread of Covid-19.

A significant increase in cases and admissions has lead to all hospitals, minor injury units and treatment centres across Cornwall asking people to wear facemasks from Monday 4 July 2022.

University Hospitals Plymouth (UHP) NHS Trust, which runs Derriford Hospital, has also brought in mask wearing rules in "all buildings within the trust, and not just clinical areas".

Across the UK Covid-19 infections have jumped by more than half a million in a week, with the rise likely to be driven by the latest Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, figures show.

A total of 2.3 million people in private households are estimated to have had the virus last week, up 32% from a week earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The trust behind Derriford Hospital says facemasks would be available at all hospital entrances. Credit: ITV News

This is the highest estimate for total infections since late April, but is still some way below the record high of 4.9 million seen at the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave at the end of March.

Kim O’Keeffe, chief nurse for both Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and Cornwall Foundation Partnership Trust says, it's a decision they've taken to make keep "vital services" running over the coming weeks and months.

She said: “It’s important we keep a close eye on transmission rates and review and reintroduce measures when needed. Recently, we’ve seen a rise in cases again and it’s crucial we use the tools at our disposal to help protect not only our patients, but visitors and our colleagues too. "

She also asked people to "be kind" to NHS staff who have been "working incredibly hard to protect patients throughout the pandemic”.

Other visiting arrangements have not changed for hospitals in Cornwall.

Similar rules have been brought in for staff and contractors at a Torbay Hospital to wear masks because of a rise in Covid-19 cases.

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust said the ruling was for anyone "while in work in all areas". Visitors, patients and the public were also being encouraged to use masks, but it was not mandatory, it added.

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