Covid-19: Bedfordshire Hospitals stop visits due to rise in cases

Patients with a learning disability, dementia or mental health illness could continue to see friends and relatives, the trust said

Two hospitals are restricting visits following a "rapidly increasing Covid-19 infection rate" in the community and on site, the trust has said.

Luton and Dunstable Hospital and Bedford Hospital have suspended visits to all adult inpatient wards.

End-of-life patients and those with dementia, a mental health illness or learning disability are exempt.

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust said it had made the change, announced at midday, to keep everyone safe.

"The trust will continue to review this change and hopes to ease these restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so," it added.

Bedford Borough Council's Local Outbreak Engagement Board heard on Wednesday that the number of patients in Bedford Hospital had doubled in the last seven days, with 71 patients in the hospital with Covid-19 on Wednesday, the highest level since last February.

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Luton reported 3,361 Covid cases in the week ending 2 January, an increase of 1,197 on the previous week.

Central Bedfordshire, which includes Dunstable, recorded 5,147 cases in the same period, up by 1,182, while Bedford had 3,048 cases, an increase of 763.

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