There are growing numbers of patients with coronavirus at Suffolk and north Essex's hospitals - with the total now close to 200.

Latest data for Tuesday, January 11 revealed there were 121 patients with Covid at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which manages Ipswich, Colchester and Felixstowe hospitals, a rise from 116 the week before.

But the number of such patients at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds more than doubled in the space of a week, rising from 34 to 73 in the same timeframe.

Four of the patients at ESNEFT are being treated with mechanical ventilation, while only one is on a ventilator at West Suffolk Hospital.

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The overall number of Covid patients between the two trusts has now reached 194, a rise of almost a quarter of last Tuesday's total of 150.

The rise in the number of patients in the region comes after figures revealed just under half of the people being treated for Covid in England's hospitals had been admitted with another condition.

Of the 15,026 patients reported as having the virus on January 11, 6,647 - 44% - were not being treated principally for Covid-19, according to NHS England.

The latest data came as Health Secretary Sajid Javid said "there are already early signs that the rate of hospitalisation is starting to slow".

He told the House of Commons on Thursday that the Omicron variant "still has the potential to lead to significant numbers of people in hospital. There’s already almost 17,000 Covid-19 patients in hospital in England.

"Due to the lag between infections and hospitalisations, the NHS will remain under significant pressure over the next few weeks.

"It is encouraging, however, that during this wave we have not seen an increase in Covid-19 intensive care patients, and there are already early signs that the rate of hospitalisation is starting to slow.

"We know that Omicron is less severe. But no-one should be under any illusions – it is severe for anyone that ends up in hospital, and that’s far more likely if you have not had the jab."