Wigan Infirmary is currently caring for 24 Covid-19 patients

NHS England data shows the number of people being treated in hospital by Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust (WWL) for Covid-19 by 8am on September 14 was down from 30 on the same day the previous week.

The number of beds at Wigan Infirmary’s specialist wards occupied by people who tested positive for Covid-19 decreased by 37 per cent in the last four weeks – 28 days ago, there were 38.

Across England there were 4,540 people in hospital with Covid as of September 14, with 140 of them in mechanical ventilation beds.

The number of Covid-19 patients hospitalised nationally has decreased by 39 per cent in the last four weeks, while the number on mechanical ventilators has decreased by 32 per cent.

The figures also show that 13 new Covid patients were admitted to hospital under WWL jurisdiction in the week to September 12.

This was down from 21 in the previous seven days.

A programme to give parts of the population their fourth Covid-19 vaccination is now under way.

The booster jab is at this stage aimed at older and vulnerable people.

Meanwhile there were two more coronavirus-related deaths recorded over the latest weekly period in Wigan.

A total of 1,369 people had died in the area when the UK coronavirus dashboard was last updated on September 15 – up from 1,367 on September 8.

They were among 26,473 deaths recorded across the North West.

The figures include anyone who died within 28 days of a positive test result for Covid-19, and whose usual residence was in Wigan.

A total of 165,806 deaths were recorded throughout England by September 15 – up from 165,369 from the previous week.