ANDOVER'S hospital is being kept as a 'Covid-free site' and is only being used for patients in recovery, the chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals has said.

It comes after Alex Whitfield said that Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital is currently treating 95 patients who have tested positive for coronavirus.

Anyone admitted to hospital from Andover with symptoms is being taken straight to Basingstoke or Winchester.

Alex Whitfield said: “Andover does not take patients directly into Andover hospital. They always come from Basingstoke or Winchester as a step down into Andover’s rehab ward or into the hospice.

“We have managed so far to keep Andover free of Covid. We have not moved any Covid patents into Andover and we are going to keep that going as long as possible to keep it a clean site.”

Hampshire has been one of the worst hit areas in the UK, with the county being the second-highest upper tier local authority area in the country, behind Birmingham.

At the time the Advertiser went to press, 76 people had died at Basingstoke or Winchester hospital from coronavirus.

Across the county, the number of deaths in hospital now stands at 283.

But this figure does not include the deaths of those outside of hospital, that have occurred in care homes or at home.

At the time of writing, there were more than 98,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Britain and 12,868 hospital patients had died.

Care England, who represents providers of care, said they estimate a further 1,400 people have died in care homes.

At least 19 healthcare workers across the UK have died from coronavirus so far. Pregnant nurse Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong tragically died on Sunday, April 12, a week after she was admitted to hospital. She had an emergency caesarean to save her baby daughter but died shortly after.

The government has been under pressure to supply more personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline staff. Last month, the Advertiser's sister newspaper reported that some staff at Basingstoke hospital were terrified for their safety over the lack of PPE.

  • The Advertiser is striving to record an accurate picture of events locally during this pandemic. If you are a key worker and would like to speak to a reporter in confidence, please email newsdesk@andoveradvertiser.co.uk.