Euro 2020: Football fans warned not to overwhelm A&E amid final

The hospital is facing "significant pressure" due to staff pinged by the test and trace app

A health boss has warned football fans not to "overwhelm" A&E services in the wake of the Euro 2020 final, amid increased pressure from Covid-19.

Julie Gillon, North Tees and Hartlepool chief executive, said other sites across the North East were "very worried" by rising infection rates.

She urged people to wash their hands, drink alcohol "in moderation" and remain distanced "as best they can".

The number of Covid cases in the North East remains the highest in England.

According to recent government data, there are around 200 Covid patients in the region's hospitals and 18 deaths were reported in the last week.

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The hospital has been under "significant pressure" due to the numbers of staff being "pinged" by the test and trace app, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

There have been "significant absences" in Newcastle hospitals, caused by a rise in staff self-isolating because of coronavirus.

Ms Gillon said her hospital trust had seen Covid-19 admissions drop from a "high of activity" in January, when it had 216 cases, to 11 cases, which she described as "still worrying".

"We are still seeing numbers come through the organisation, lengths of stay are not as long as they were earlier this year, but we definitely need to control this.

"There's a range of ages in the main. At the beginning of last week we were experiencing quite young people but now the ranges are from in their 20s to over 60s.

"Some people have been doubly vaccinated, we have yet to understand whether they have underlying conditions but we are very vigilant on this and we are working with Public Health England to ensure we have a full understanding of how we manage this surge."

North Tees and Hartlepool hospital's Julie Gillon encouraged fans to be sensible during the final

Nurse Emma Francis said a lot of people were arriving at the department with minor injuries. and there had been a "number of injuries" related to the football over the last few days.

"Our advice is for people to be mindful of this - enjoy the match but do so responsibly," she added.

Ministers are considering exempting fully vaccinated NHS staff in England from having to self-isolate if they are traced as a Covid contact.

Public Health England figures, for the seven days to 5 July, shows that South Tyneside continues to have the highest rate of infections, with 1,651 new cases, the equivalent of 1,094 per 100,000 people.

It is the first time any local area of England has recorded a rate higher than 1,000 per 100,000 people since 18 January, when Knowsley in Merseyside recorded a rate of 1,013.

Hartlepool, Sunderland and Gateshead are also in the top five areas with the biggest week-on-week rises, as well as North East Lincolnshire.