THE number of Covid patients being treated at York Hospital has doubled in a day.

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said today it had 18 confirmed and suspected Covid-19 inpatients across the trust, with one in intensive care.

It said yesterday that it had nine such patients with one in ICU.

Until yesterday, there had been no sharp increase in patient numbers to match the dramatic increase in the number of Covid cases across the York area, with vaccination helping to break the link between cases and hospitalisations.

The number of Covid patients discharged by the trust since the start of the pandemic has risen past the 2,200 milestone, with 2,201 having been discharged or no longer being treated as Covid.

A trust spokeswoman said today that all 18 Covid patients, including any from the Scarborough area, were being treated in a Covid ward at York Hospital.