MORE beds are taken up by coronavirus patients in two of Lancashire’s hospitals than almost any others in England, as fears mount over an increasing number of admissions.

New data has revealed that 19 per cent of beds in facilities operated by the East Lancashire Hospital’s Trust, which include the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General, are now occupied by patients who have tested positive for covid-19.

This is a percentage which has rocketed upwards from nine weeks ago, when just 0.6 per cent of beds were occupied by those needing care following a coronavirus diagnosis.

The stark increase in admissions has led to a warning from a senior trust boss, who is urging people to act now before it is too late.

Tony McDonald, Director of Integrated Care and Partnerships for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said: “As infection rates across East Lancashire rise, so do hospital admissions. We have seen a sharp increase throughout October and the number changes on an hourly basis as patients are admitted, discharged or sadly, die.

“It is incredibly important that everyone takes action now to prevent more people getting sick from this disease. This means we must be extra careful to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our communities."

On Wednesday, the hospital was featured in a news report broadcasted by American news network CNN, where it emerged the trust had recorded more covid-19 deaths last weekend than any other since the start of the pandemic.

The borough currently has the highest covid-19 infection rate in England leading to both national and international media attention.

Meanwhile Lancashire is also home to the hospital which is housing more covid-19 patients than any other in England.

The Blackpool Victoria Hospital has a higher proportion of its beds taken up by patients with Covid-19 than any other hospital - with around a quarter of the hospital's approximate 800 beds occupied by people battling the virus.

Of those 18 are in the ICU, which usually has 16 beds but has capacity for 32.

Nationally the NHS England data showed the number of hospital beds in country occupied by confirmed coronavirus patients has more than doubled in two weeks from 4,105 on October 13 to 8,595 on Tuesday.

The new data, published on Thursday, also showed there were 743 Covid-19 patients in mechanical ventilation beds in England on Tuesday, up from 560 on the same day the previous week.

Mr McDonald added "Our staff are working extremely hard under exceptional circumstances and we thank them. Their resilience is unbelievable. We are also continuing to provide care for non COVID patients and it’s important that anyone with health concerns continues to come forward for help and treatment. Our hospitals are safe."

Across England, hospitals have begun looking at whether they need to cancel non-urgent operations, with bosses in Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bradford already cancelling some routine treatments.

An average of 230 deaths a day from Covid-19 have been reported in the UK over the past seven days, compared with 151 for the previous week.