THE number of people in hospital in Worcestershire with Covid-19 reached its highest level since March according to the latest figures.

NHS England said a total of 61 people were in hospital in Worcestershire with coronavirus on November 2 – the highest it has been since March 15 when 61 people were also in hospital.

One person was in intensive care in hospital with the virus on November 2 – the latest day of data available.

The rise in people in hospital with Covid-19 in Worcestershire comes as the number of new infections fell slightly in the same week.

Public Health England said a total of 2,645 new coronavirus cases were recorded in the county in the week up to November 2.

However, the number of new infections did rise by 15 per cent in Worcester to 511 – the third highest in the week.

The most new cases were recorded in Wyre Forest where a weekly rise of eight per cent saw the number of new infections increase to 530.

A total of 521 cases were recorded in Wychavon, which includes Evesham, Pershore and Droitwich, where the number of new infections fell by 16 per cent compared to the week before.

New infections increased slightly in Malvern Hills where a four per cent rise saw a total of 340 cases recorded in the week.

New cases fell by a third in Redditch compared to the week before where a total of 295 cases were recorded across the district across the seven days up to November 2.

A drop of 14 per cent in cases in Bromsgrove compared to the week before saw a total of 448 cases recorded.

As of October 22, a total of 1,437 people in Worcestershire have died from coronavirus so far according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).