Hospital forced to shut A&E after surge in coronavirus cases sees ‘40% of NHS staff test positive for covid’
TWO fifths of NHS staff at a hospital forced to close to new patients after a surge in Covid-19 cases have tested positive for coronavirus, a leaked message claims.
Weston General Hospital in Somerset hasn’t accepted new admissions, including at its A&E department, since 8am on Monday after a “high number of patients with Covid-19″.
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A message reportedly sent to staff on Monday, seen by Somerset Live, said the hospital had 64 patients who had tested positive for COVID-19, a leap of 30 from the start of the week.
Testing on medical staff, including those with no symptoms, showed an alarming surge in infections, with 40 per cent testing positive for the killer bug.
It comes as Britain’s virus death toll jumped today to at least 37,460, 412 more deaths recorded in the last 24 hours.
Today’s spike in deaths is more than three times greater than yesterday’s, when 134 fatalities were reported.
SURGE IN INFECTIONS
The leaked message to Somerset NHS staff read: “Also on testing asymptomatic staff are reporting 40 per cent of those tested as COVID-19 positive.
“Discussions at CCG, regional and national level have all concluded that there is no mitigation that can be put in place to safely manage and maintain operations at Weston.
“The decision to close has national, regional and CCG support.”
Sun Online has contacted University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust for comment.
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Yesterday, the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust medical director Dr William Oldfield confirmed there were “currently a high number of patients with coronavirus in the hospital”.
Dr Oldfield said: “We have tested all inpatients and will undertake retesting in line with national guidance, and we have appropriate segregation in place for patient care.
“Testing for symptomatic staff and household contacts has been offered across the trust since the beginning of April.
“In addition, there is an emerging picture of asymptomatic staff testing positive for the virus.”
Staff who have tested positive were told they must self-isolate in line with national guidance.
DAY TRIPPERS BLAMED
Residents in the area say the rise in infections has been propelled by people driving from other parts of the UK to the resort, which has a large elderly population.
Locals believe hordes of families and groups from as far as Birmingham triggered the healthcare crisis by visiting the town during the sunny early May bank holiday.
Don Trapnell, 56, who reopened his beachfront cafe this week, said the town had been “absolutely heaving” over the past two weekends.
He added: “They were coming from all over, some from as far as Birmingham, which is more than 100 miles away. Madness.
“You’ve got groups of friends and families all gathering here for the first time in months, drinking booze and their kids mixing with kids from other groups.
“It’s little wonder the town has seen an explosion in the virus.”
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Last week Weston-super-Mare mayor Mayor Mark Canniford hit out at a “complete disregard” for the town’s residents, with people failing to queue in a socially distanced manner.
He said: “There was a complete disregard for the residents, complete disregard for the rest of the seafront, not taking any notice of proper queuing when they were trying to get something to drink or eat.
“Weston seafront, the facilities just aren’t there. It can’t cope with the number of people but people have still come.”
