The number of Covid-19 patients at Queen’s and King George Hospitals has seen a small drop.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust (BHRUT), which runs the hospitals, reported that they had 48 patients with lab-confirmed Covid-19 as of September 29.

The figure marks a decline in case numbers from the 51 recorded the week prior and the 70 recorded on September 1.

Of the 48, just four were newly diagnosed in the previous 24 hours, while 10 were in critical care. Both figures are lower than those recorded in the previous week.

Critical care capacity has also fallen, with a total occupancy rate of 74 per cent, compared with 86pc on Wednesday, September 22.

Over the course of the pandemic, 1,671 patients who died at the hospitals had a positive Covid-19 test result within 28 days of death.

Meanwhile, 5,555 patients with Covid-19 have recovered and been discharged.