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A hospital has been partially closed due to a coronavirus outbreak in its kidney and intensive care wards.
Ambulances have been diverted from the A&E department and there are restrictions on visitors at St Helier Hospital in Sutton, south London.
The infections were discovered over the weekend and a major investigation was launched into how patients who were being treated for other illnesses became infected with Covid-19.
Six patients are believed to be infected. There is concern that the virus has entered the hospital’s intensive care unit that houses the sickest patients.
Have you been affected by the outbreak? Send an email to [email protected].
(Image: PA)
A source at the hospital said: “Infection control in intensive care is very strict. It is very worrying that people who are fighting for their lives have already become infected.”
A spokesperson for the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust said: “A small number of patients tested positive for Covid-19 during admission to the renal department and intensive care unit at St Helier Hospital.
“The safety and well-being of our patients and staff is our priority and those who tested positive have been isolated from other patients, with arrangements in place to maintain safe and high-quality care.
“We continue to follow all relevant infection prevention and control guidelines.
“Visits have been restricted in some areas, as soon as doctors are confident that the measures can be lifted in a safe way for patients and staff, they will.”
The government has been under pressure for months to introduce routine weekly tests to hospital staff for the coronavirus.
Last week, the House of Commons Health Committee added its weight to the request for periodic tests to protect patients.
Covid-19 infections have affected several other hospitals in recent weeks.
In Essex, Basildon Hospital was hit by a coronavirus outbreak with at least 21 employees and patients infected.
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust said the hospital was operating normally and that “strong infection prevention and control measures” had been put in place.
Meanwhile, the number of weekly coronavirus deaths in England and Wales has increased by more than half in seven days, official figures show.
There were 215 deaths in the week ending September 25 in which the “new coronavirus” was mentioned, 2.2% of all deaths in England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
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It was the third consecutive weekly increase and represents a 54.6% increase in deaths related to Covid-19 compared to the previous week, when 139 deaths were recorded.
The number of deaths from coronavirus increased in eight of the nine regions of England and Wales.
Only two areas, London and the East, had overall lower-than-average deaths for five years for this time of year.
Overall, 9,634 deaths were recorded in England and Wales in the week ending September 25 – 111 more than the previous week and 2.7% more than the five-year average.
Deaths in hospitals and nursing homes were below the five-year average, while deaths in private homes remained above, with 749 more deaths than would normally be expected.
Across the UK, 10,861 deaths were recorded, 179 deaths more than the five-year average and 77 deaths more than the previous week.
Of these, 234 mentioned the coronavirus.
More than 58,000 deaths related to Covid-19 have been recorded in the UK.
Figures released Tuesday by the ONS show that 52,943 Covid-19-related deaths had occurred in England and Wales as of September 25, and had been recorded as of October 3.
Figures released last week by the Scottish National Registries showed that 4,257 Covid-19-related deaths had been recorded in Scotland as of September 27, while 901 deaths had occurred in Northern Ireland as of September 25 (and were had registered until September 30). , according to the Northern Ireland Statistical and Research Agency.
Together these figures mean that 58,101 deaths have so far been recorded in the UK, where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, including suspected cases.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Tuesday defended the government’s controversial 10 p.m. coronavirus curfew for pubs and restaurants, warning that the alternative was for them to close entirely.
Ministers are under pressure from Conservative MPs to lift the curfew in England, as well as to relax the so-called ‘rule of six’, amid claims that such intrusive measures are not justified by the evidence and damage the economy.
The government is poised for a possible secondary rebellion when the Commons come to vote Tuesday to continue the rule of six that bans social gatherings of more than six people.
With a new vote expected Wednesday on the 10 pm curfew, the rebels are urging ministers to make concessions.
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