East London Covid deaths in hospital still plummeting

Fewer than 60 Covid patients died at seven major east London hospitals this week, run by Barts Health NHS Trust and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT).

This means the weekly death rate is now one third of what it was one month ago, when an average of 20 patients were dying across east London every day.

Figures released by the trusts - on February 5 and 3 respectively - suggest there are around 800 east Londoners in hospital with Covid, with about a quarter of these needing intensive care.

Patients more likely to die at BHRUT

Since the start of the pandemic, more than a fifth of Covid patients at King George Hospital and Queen’s Hospital, run by BHRUT, have died, compared to around a seventh at Barts Health.

A total of 1,440 Covid patients have died at the Ilford and Romford hospitals as of February 3, while 4,039 patients have recovered, although this latter figure includes suspected cases from March to October.

At the five hospitals run by Barts Health, which includes Whipps Cross in Leytonstone, a total of 1,624 patients have died and 9,456 have recovered and been discharged.

The Barts Health website also pays homage to eight staff members who died during the pandemic, two of whom worked at Whipps Cross Hospital.

They were Dr Habibhai Babu, who worked in older people’s services, and former Whipps porter Jeff Edwards.

For more breaking news, local headlines and features, ‘like’ our Facebook page.

We also have a Twitter account: @ELondonGuardian

Follow us to keep up-to-date with news in Waltham Forest and Redbridge.