Covid hospital patient numbers in South Yorkshire more than double in a fortnight

The number of Covid patients in South Yorkshire’s hospitals has more than doubled in a fortnight, Mayor Dan Jarvis has revealed.
Dan Jarvis has warned pressure is growing on South Yorkshire's hospitals.Dan Jarvis has warned pressure is growing on South Yorkshire's hospitals.
Dan Jarvis has warned pressure is growing on South Yorkshire's hospitals.

In the week before Christmas, there were 201 beds occupied across the region with 23 people in high-dependency units. By the start of this week, that number had risen to 457 Covid patients in hospital, with 25 in high-dependency units.

Mr Jarvis said the situation has been made event more challenging due to 12 per cent of local NHS workers either isolating or being on sick leave themselves as Covid spreads rapidly across the region.

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He said: “Covid hospitalisations are increasing at an unprecedented rate across our region and have now more than doubled since the week before Christmas. This means that our NHS services in South Yorkshire are under immense pressure.

“The number of Covid cases in South Yorkshire is now at its highest level since the beginning of the pandemic, and over 12 per cent of our NHS workers are either isolating or on sick leave, which is severely impacting on the functionality of our NHS.”

Mr Jarvis called for additional resources to be made available to South Yorkshire testing sites as a result of current PCR test shortages and a lack of staff.

He added that businesses are also being hit by the current situation.

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“South Yorkshire’s retail, leisure and hospitality businesses are suffering because of this latest surge,” he said.

“Throughout the pandemic, our region has been one of the leading areas in providing additional business support, with the Mayoral Combined Authority and local councils unlocking and distributing over £46m in grants.

“We stand ready to provide the same level of support to help businesses and preserve jobs, but we cannot do this if the government will not unlock vital funds. They must act urgently.

“I am working closely with local leaders and agencies to ensure that collectively we are doing all we can to get us through this situation.

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“NHS staff, emergency services, care workers and key workers are yet again going above and beyond, often with limited staff and resources. The best thing we can do to support their herculean efforts is to get our vaccine and booster jabs.

“The evidence shows that if you are vaccinated and boosted, you are less likely to contract the virus and if you do, symptoms are more likely to be mild and less likely to require medical attention.

“I urge everyone to keep up their efforts to keep themselves and others safe, follow guidance on isolating, test where possible, and have the vaccine and booster to protect one another and to ensure our NHS can cope with rising demands.”

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