Cumbria's coronavirus death toll stark, Colin Cox says

Colin Cox said the strain on the county's hospitals was "not sustainable"

The deaths of more than 1,000 people in Cumbria from coronavirus is "stark" and hospitals remain under "extremely serious" pressure, the county's health chief has said.

Data published by Cumbria's Health Protection Board showed the figure was passed late last month.

Colin Cox, director of public health at the county council, urged people to continue efforts to slow Covid-19.

County council leader Stewart Young described the death toll as "sobering".

Latest figures show there were 1,321 new cases in Cumbria in the week ending 29 January - a fall of 31% from 1,920 a week previously.

Mr Cox said: "We've known we would pass 1,000 deaths, though seeing it in the official figures is stark and my thoughts are with everyone who has lost a loved one.

"While the fall in new infections is very welcome, infection rates are still high and the position in our hospitals remains extremely serious, with numbers continuing to grow in the south of the county.

"It's not just that people are being hospitalised, it's that more of them are very seriously ill and staying in hospital for long periods.

"That puts a huge strain on hospital services and hospital staff. They are coping, just, but it's not sustainable.

"With where we are now, it is still too soon to ease up," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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Mr Young said passing 1,000 deaths "should cause us all to stop and reflect".

"A year ago, we felt things like this couldn't happen here, it was something we saw on the news from abroad.

"Most of us know of someone who has been seriously ill or died.

"The vaccination programme is making fantastic progress and the current lockdown has driven down infection rates, but we're not there yet and we cannot let our guard down."