Coronavirus: ‘Definite trend’ for falling hospital numbers as deaths hit April low

There is a “very definite trend” downwards in the number of people in hospital with coronavirus, the director of NHS England has said.

It comes as daily hospital death figures from COVID-19 hit a low not seen since 31 March.

NHS boss Stephen Powis told reporters at the Downing Street briefing: “We now have a very definite trend in a reduced number of people in hospitals.

“That is most marked in London but I think you can also see that in the Midlands and the beginnings in other areas of the UK.

“That is definitely showing that our compliance with social distancing is proving to be beneficial. It is reducing the transmission and spread of the virus.”

The proportion of critical care beds in UK taken by COVID-19 patients is also declining, said Mr Powis.

He added: “The core message is really to continue to comply… By getting the infection rate down, will get us in the best position for track and trace.”

There were 413 coronavirus-linked hospital deaths reported by the Department for Health on Sunday.

It is the smallest numerical increase since 31 March (when it was 381) and the smallest percentage increase (2%) to date.

The time it takes deaths to double has extended once more to 19 days.

• England reported 336 deaths on Sunday, compared with 711 on Saturday. The overall figure is now 18,420.
• Scotland reported 18 more, taking its total to 1,249. It reported 47 on Saturday.
• Wales reported 14 more deaths, taking its total to 788. It reported 23 on Saturday.
• Northern Ireland reported 5 more deaths, taking its total to 299. It reported 16 on Saturday.

Individual health authorities in the home nations collate their numbers at different times throughout the day and so they may not tally up to the government’s overall daily total.

The Department of Health said total coronavirus-related deaths in hospitals across the UK is now 20,732.

Some 15,953 people are in hospital having tested positive for COVID-19. This is down from 16,411 since yesterday.

However, experts have cautioned against reading too much into the daily figure and advise people to look more at the weekly trend in the direction of numbers.

Also, there can sometimes be fewer reported during the weekend as some of the people who collate the numbers may not be working.

Sunday’s Downing Street briefing – led by Environment Secretary George Eustice – also revealed a new high in daily testing.

In the 24 hours to 9am on Sunday, 29,058 were carried out – that is still only just over half the current capacity.

On Saturday, the number of UK fatalities passed 20,000 in a bleak milestone described as “tragic and terrible” by Home Secretary Priti Patel, who said the whole country was grieving.

Health officials had previously hoped that in the best case scenario in the COVID-19 pandemic they could limit this figure to 20,000 or below.

The latest fatality figures do not cover coronavirus-related deaths in the wider community, including in care homes, which means the true number will be higher by several thousand at least.

Boris Johnson, who spent a week in hospital and nearly lost his life to the disease, is expected to return to work tomorrow. He is under pressure from the Labour leader and Conservative donors to lift coronavirus lockdown measures.

The prime minister, who was treated in intensive care, will be back in Downing Street just over a fortnight after leaving hospital.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has stepped up pressure on the government to set out an “exit strategy” for lifting lockdown measures that were put in place on 23 March to slow the spread of coronavirus.

But Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has been deputising for the PM, has told Sky News that it would not be responsible to give details of any exit strategy.

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: ‘Definite trend’ for falling hospital numbers as deaths hit April low