The number of people admitted to the Royal Sussex with covid is beginning to rise again.
The number of patients with coronavirus at the Royal Sussex rose above five for the first time last week, with six patients on Monday, July 5, rising to eight on Friday, July 9.
According to the council’s covid dashboard, which publishes figures supplied by the hospital, there are also now a small number of patients in the Royal Sussex’s high dependency unit (HDU).
Any figures less than five are not specified.
Across the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Sussex and hospitals in Worthing, Haywards Heath, Chichester and Shoreham, there were 15 patients and two on mechanical ventilation on Tuesday, July 6.
The number of patients being admitted to the trust has also risen from zero or one a day through April and early June to three or more a day so far in July.
The trustwide figures are published on the government’s covid dashboard.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Brighton and Hove is still high – although the rate at which it is increasing appears to have slowed in recent days.
The rate per 100,000 remains highest amongst the 20-24 age range – but has been rising steeply in older age groups too. However, there has been no major outbreak in the oldest age ranges.
Although figures for the Royal Sussex from December and January, when cases were at a similar level, are not available on the council dashboard, it is clear the numbers of people in hospital are much lower this time.
However, the city’s relatively low level of vaccine uptake compared to most of the country does mean more people here are vulnerable to the virus.
Less than half – 48.6% – of adult patients registered in Brighton and Hove have received two vaccinations.
Brighton and Hove has one of the lowest rates in the south east, alongside other university towns – Bournemouth, Reading, Canterbury, Southampton – with young and transitory populations.
However, since April nobody in Brighton and Hove has died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, according to figures to 10 July.
And from May to 25 June, just two people have died with covid mentioned on their death certificate.
A small number in the HDU?
Less than five, are we to take it?
Paint it black, we all love it blacker than black.
Are these patients vaccinated or unvaccinated? Most of the covid diagnoses seem to be happening in vaccinated patients now.