THE number of patients with coronavirus in hospital beds in Dorset has been rising over the past few weeks, according to Public Health Dorset’s weekly update.

In the update published on November 12, Public Health Dorset confirmed there were 126 Covid-19 patients in hospital beds as of November 11. This is up from 113 on November 4.

With the second lockdown having been in place for a week now, Public Health Dorset said it is too early to understand the impact of the restrictions on the situation locally.

It said: “We need Dorset residents to play their part in bringing cases down. This will put us in the best possible place to return to fewer restrictions after national measures end.”

Between November 1 and November 7, 848 cases were confirmed in the BCP Council area and 365 were in the Dorset Council area.

This is up for the BCP Council area from 816 the previous week, but down for the Dorset Council area from 390.

The rolling infection rate in the BCP Council area for the week leading up to November 7 was 214.5 per 100,000. For the Dorset Council area, the rate was 96.4.

This is in comparison to the rolling rate of 166 per 100,000 in the south west.

The update comes as a further seven people died in Dorset’s hospitals with coronavirus, taking the total to 212.

On cases in schools, Public Health Dorset said: “We continue to see cases associated with schools reported in both the Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council areas.

“We have well-established processes in place to work closely with affected schools to respond to cases, ensure all necessary measures are implemented and identify and advise any close contacts to self-isolate.”

Finally, in the seven days leading up to November 6, there were 39 confirmed coronavirus cases at Bournemouth University. There were ten cases at Arts University Bournemouth.