NHS chief’s sadness as city passes 500 Covid deaths

‘A VERY SAD POINT IN OUR HISTORY’: Chris Long, chief executive of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Hull’s NHS boss has spoken of his sadness as the city passed the grim milestone of recording more than 500 deaths from Covid-19.

The figures, released by NHS England in its latest daily figures on Wednesday, show 502 patients have now died at Hull hospitals since the pandemic began.

Chris Long, chief executive of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, said: “We have now reached a very sad point in our history by recording 500 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

“These people will never be just a number to us or the staff who looked after them. They are someone’s mum or dad, a grandmother or grandfather, a sister or brother, a child or a friend, and we extend our heartfelt sympathies to those mourning their loss.

“We can all play a part in helping to halt the spread of the virus to prevent more deaths. Follow the Government’s instruction to stay at home.

“Only leave your house if it is essential and, if you need to go out, wear your mask in public areas, stay two metres away from each other and wash your hands regularly to help stop the spread of this virus.”

Wednesday’s figures also revealed a further 1,041 had died across the country in the previous 24 hours within 28 days of testing positive - the worst highest daily toll since the first wave of the virus last spring.

The new number of new cases also hit a fresh high of 62,322.

In mid-November, Hull had the worst weekly rate of infections in the country, with nearly 800 cases per 100,000 of the population.