The number of patients in hospital in Cornwall with coronavirus is almost six times higher than a week ago.

NHS England figures show that as of Tuesday morning (December 15), there were 29 patients at the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust who had tested positive for Covid-19. This was up from five a week earlier, on December 8.

This is understood to be as a result of an outbreak in one of the sites, rather than from the wider community.

Following a request from the Packet for a response to this, a Trust spokesperson said: "West Cornwall Hospital has put new admissions on hold.

"Covid is continuing to circulate in the local community and this is a stark reminder of the need for everyone to follow restrictions, minimise contacts, keep a distance, wear face coverings and wash hands regularly.”

In addition, there were three patients in Cornish Partnership Trust hospitals - up from two week-on-week.

Overall, however, the combined region has only seen a small rise, after patient numbers in Torbay, North Devon and Plymouth decreased.

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As of Tuesday morning there were 243 patients across Devon and Cornwall in hospital after a positive Covid-19 test. This compares to 231 as of December 8.

In addition to the patients in Cornwall, there were 34 patients at the Exeter Nightingale Hospital (up from 32), 116 patients in the Royal Devon and Exeter (up from 88), 21 in Derriford Hospital in Plymouth (down from 36), ten in Torbay Hospital (down from 23) and 29 in North Devon District Hospital (down from 37), while three beds at Livewell SouthWest facilities (down from seven) were also occupied, but no beds at Devon Partnership Trust facilities (down from one) were in use.

The number of patients in Mechanical Ventilation beds has fallen from 12 to seven, with five at the RD&E and two at Derriford Hospital.

There are no mechanical ventilation beds in Cornwall, North Devon or Torbay being occupied by patients following a positive Covid-19 test.

The figures show the amount of patients in hospital following a positive Covid-19 test who are currently occupying a bed.

But not every patient would necessarily have been admitted to hospital due to Covid-19, with a number of patients either contracting the virus inside the hospital, or being admitted for unrelated reasons but subsequently testing positive asymptotically when given routine tests.