THE number of Covid wards at York Hospital has been cut from seven to five following a 'promising' fall in the number of patients with the coronavirus.

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said today that it currently had 115 confirmed and suspected Covid-19 inpatients at its two hospitals, York and Scarborough.

That is down by 13 on yesterday and by 127 on the peak number of 242 on Tuesday January 26.

The trust said it currently had 14 Covid patients in intensive care, down from 16 yesterday.

It said a total of 1,878 Covid patients had been discharged, or were no longer being treated as Covid, since the start of the pandemic.

A trust spokeswoman said there are now five Covid wards on the York site, a reduction of two.

She said: "It is promising that there has been a drop in the overall number of inpatients who have tested positive for Covid-19; however the number of Covid-positive patients in York Hospital still remains high. 

"It therefore remains essential that we all continue to play a part in reducing the spread of the virus by complying with the lockdown restrictions and by following the health guidance of Hands, Face, Space."