West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust has recorded its first Covid death in two-and-a-half months.

The patient passed away on Thursday July 8, data from NHS England shows.

It is the 919th Covid death recorded by the trust, but the first since April 25.

Publicly available data does not tell us whether the patient who passed away on July 8 had underlying health conditions or was partially or fully vaccinated, or not vaccinated at all.

However, NHS and Public Health England data does tell us they were aged at least 60, they lived within the borough of Hertsmere, and they had tested positive for Covid-19 within 28 days of their death.

According to the latest Public Health England figures, West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Watford General, Hemel Hempstead, and St Albans City hospitals, was caring for 20 Covid patients as of 8am on July 13.

This included two patients on ventilation.

July 13 is the latest available date for data specifically from the hospital trust.

More recent NHS England data shows as of 8am on July 14, there were 154 Covid patients being cared for at hospitals in the East of England, which is the highest since at least April.

Covid infection rates in Hertfordshire continue to rise, with more than 6,000 cases recorded across the county in July.

In Hertfordshire, 815,190 people had at least one dose of the Covid vaccine as of July 13, with 626,396 fully vaccinated.

This means a little over 60 per cent of the county's adult population have had two doses.

Watford mayor Peter Taylor said: "The number of covid cases continues to rise in Watford.

"Please have your vaccine (1st and 2nd jab) as soon as you can to keep yourself and others safe.

"There are walk in Pfizer clinics at Watford Town Hall all week - no appointment needed, just bring photo ID and proof of age."

Anyone who is yet to receive their first jab or had a Pfizer dose at least eight weeks ago is eligible to visit.

Walk-ins for Pfizer jabs for over 18s at Watford town hall are taking place on the following days.

  • Thu 15 July 8:30am to 4:30pm 
  • Fri 16 July 11:30am to 7:30pm
  • Sat 17 July 8:30am to 3:30pm 
  • Sun 18 July 8:30am to 3:30pm