Three Covid-19 victims in a single day at Northampton General Hospital

NHS officials today confirmed three more Covid-19 victims died at Northampton General Hospital on Sunday.

The shock news follows two more deaths last Thursday (July 23) among patients who tested positive for the killer bug.

Before that, front-line hospital staff treating Covid-19 patients had not seen more than one death on any day since July 8 and no new victims on 12 of the previous 17 days.

Officials at NGH stopped issuing comments regarding deaths at the hospital on May 12.

Covid-19 is now thought to have claimed the lives of 663 in the Northamptonshire's two main hospitals and the county's care homes.

These latest victims take the total number of deaths at NGH to 310 since the Covid-19 pandemic first hit the county in March.

A further 219 have died at Kettering General Hospital while 134 deaths in care homes have been linked to coronavirus by the Care Quality Commission.

PHE last week identified the town as an "area of concern" over rising infection rates prompting local health officials to issue new guidance urging Northampton residents to be vigilant, work from home where they can, limit contact with others outside their own household — especially indoors — and avoid public transport and car sharing or risk a local lockdown similar to the one in Leicester.

HERE'S THE ADVICE YOU NEED TO FOLLOW IN AND AROUND NORTHAMPTONFour Covid-19 testing units have been deployed across in the county — two in Northampton's Market Square and at St Andrew's Health Centre Cliftonville car park, one in Daventry and on in Corby — as health chiefs remain worried over becoming a potential hotspot.

Anyone who believes they have coronavirus symptons — a new, continuous cough; high temperature; loss of or change in sense of smell or taste — is urged to get tested urgently to avoid risking of passing on the virus. More guidance can be found HERE.

Northamptonshire's Director of Public Health Lucy Wightman said: “We are concerned that coronavirus cases remain higher than we would like them to be, so we have arranged for additional testing capacity over the coming days.

“Anyone with even the mildest coronavirus symptoms must first of all isolate at home straight away with everyone else in their household. This is absolutely essential to help stop the further spread of the virus locally and protect vulnerable people, and though you may otherwise feel well you must not go to work or even visit a shop because this will put others at risk.

“Secondly, you should book a test via the NHS website or by calling 119. If you test positive you should continue to stay at home in line with government guidance – and this will enable the NHS test and trace service to identify and alert other people you may have come into contact with.”