Hospital ward forced to close due to Covid outbreak as cases rise in UK

A hospital ward has been forced to close due to a Covid-19 outbreak as infections rise again around the country.

According to reports, a closure has been put in place on the Ashgrove Ward at Hereford County Hospital.

It comes after Wye Valley NHS Trust reintroduced the use of face masks in clinical areas of the hospital.

The trust said in an update earlier: "Patients and visitors are required to wear a face mask in all clinical areas at Trust sites."

Wye Valley NHS Trust has not confirmed the closure of the ward yet but has been approached by The Mirror for comment.

New figures show Covid-19 infections in the UK have jumped 25% to their highest level since mid-August.

The hospital trust reintroduced the use of face masks in clinical areas earlier (Sunday Mirror)

England and Northern Ireland have both seen an increase while the trend in Scotland and Wales is uncertain.

There has also been a "marked" rise in infection levels among those over 70.

Several new Covid-19 variants have been identified in the UK but are all circulating at a low level. It is not yet clear if they are the main drivers of the increase in infections.

Some 1.3 million people in private households across the UK are likely to have tested positive for coronavirus in the week to September 26, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Covid cases are on the rise in Britain (Adam Gerrard / Sunday Mirror)

This is up from 1.1 million in the previous week.

It is the highest UK-wide total since the week to August 16 but is still some way below the 3.8 million weekly infections in early July, at the peak of the wave caused by the Omicron BA.4/BA.5 subvariants of the virus.

There is a lag in the reporting of the ONS data due to the time it takes for the survey to be compiled.

Sarah Crofts, ONS deputy director of the Covid-19 infection survey, said: "Infections have continued to increase in England, reaching levels last seen in mid-August.

"The rest of the UK is a mixed picture with uncertain trends in Wales and Scotland and a recent increase in Northern Ireland.

"Amongst the over-70s there has been a marked increase in infections in England this week, a trend which we will closely monitor as the winter months progress."