THERE are currently five in-patients being cared for at Warrington and Halton hospitals who have tested positive for coronavirus.

This is according to the latest figures issued by Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as of midday today, Thursday.

The patient total shows a slight increase from the previous week, in which three in-patients were being cared for.

One patient who has contracted Covid-19 is currently in ICU – the same number recorded during the previous seven days.

To date, the trust has tested 15,283 people for the virus, of which 1,204 tested positive.

The number of tests is up 948 in the past seven days, with the number of positive tests rising by five.

Those patients who have been discharged after contracting Covid-19 amount to 391, with three being discharged since August 6.

Sadly, one coronavirus death at the trust was recorded on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 137.

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Emergency department attendance over the past seven days is 1,611, with an average daily attendance of 230.

The attendance figure for the Urgent Care Centre is 435 – a daily average of 62.

The number of babies born since August 6 at trust hospitals stands at 52.