Covid death toll at Harrogate Hospital hits 91 as one more death confirmed

The latest death comes as the number of Covid patients at the hospital has nearly doubled since last week - increasing from 15 to 28.

The district's weekly infection rate is also continuing to climb and health officials have warned residents could be placed under a higher tier of restrictions once the national lockdown ends on December 2.

The rate has more than doubled from 138 cases per 100,000 people in mid-October to 307 this week.

Health boss reveals more than 450 NHS staff in North Yorkshire are off work because of Covid

Harrogate entered the national lockdown under Tier 1 restrictions, but Richard Webb, the county's corporate director for health and adult services, said there was a "real concern" that infection levels were not being kept under control well enough for a return back to the same level.

He told a briefing of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum: "We are issuing a fresh appeal to the public for all of us to work together to fight the virus. In just two weeks time the government will receive the data on the impact of the lockdown and we will also be assessing our data.

"As North Yorkshire we went into the lockdown in Tier 1 - the lowest level of alert. However, as we see the cases at the moment we have a real concern that we will face tougher restrictions coming out of lockdown."

The Harrogate district's overall coronavirus death toll - including deaths outside the hospital - now stands at 123, according to Public Health England figures.

It comes as the UK has become the first state in Europe to pass 50,000 coronavirus deaths.

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter