THE number of patients being cared for by Warrington and Halton Hospital Trust for coronavirus currently is higher than that at the height of the first wave.

This has been confirmed by Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in its daily Covid-19 update.

As of today, Thursday, there are currently 145 inpatients in trust hospitals who have tested positive for the virus, with 17 in intensive care.

The highest number of Covid-19-positive inpatients during the first wave was 124 on April 12. At that time, 18 of these were in ICU.

Today’s figures show a significant rise from yesterday, Wednesday, when 121 patients were being treated for coronavirus, with 16 in intensive care.

In addition to this, a further three patients have died after contracting the virus, bringing the trust’s death toll to 188.

To date, the trust has tested 31,389 inpatients and members of the community for coronavirus, with 2,058 producing a positive result.

The number of patients who had tested positive but have since been discharged stands at 584.

The latest Public Health England data shows that 432 new coronavirus cases were identified in Halton in the seven days up to October 24.

This represents 333.8 cases per 100,000 residents, which is the 52nd highest rate of any local authority area in the country at present.