A hospital trust has confirmed that it has no plans to discharge south Cumbria patients to hotels in the surrounding area after claims that hospitals in England would soon be doing so.

A report in the Guardian claimed that patients being treated at hospitals in England will soon be discharged early to hotels or their own homes to help with the strain on health services.

In London, the London Hotel Group have already begun to welcome Covid-positive patients from King’s College Hospital to a Croydon hotel.

However, this policy will not be adopted by the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT), which runs Furness General Hospital and Westmorland General Hospital in south Cumbria.

Ledbury Reporter: KENDAL: Westmorland General HospitalKENDAL: Westmorland General Hospital

It is believed that other hospitals will implement the plan to free up beds for people suffering with Covid-19 and in need of urgent health care.

Voluntary organisations St John Ambulance, the British Red Cross, armed forces medical personnel and available NHS staff will provide care for patients in the hotels.

There is a growing concern that hospitals could soon be overwhelmed due to the rise in Covid-19 patients.

Over 35,000 Covid-19 patients are currently in UK hospitals.

In Cumbria, the worst week for new Covid-19 infections was recorded earlier this month.

3,489 people tested positive for the virus in the week ending January 8, a 39 per cent increase on the previous week.

During the first week of January, positive Covid-19 cases rose by more than 300 per cent in Barrow.

Roose witnessed the highest increase in the Barrow area, with a total of 75 new positives cases recorded.

Ledbury Reporter: HEALTH: Cumbria's public health director Colin CoxHEALTH: Cumbria's public health director Colin Cox

Colin Cox, Cumbria's director of public health, is urging people to follow the lockdown rules to decrease case numbers and hospital admissions.

He said: "People need to follow the lockdown that we have at the moment, it is utterly critical to try and get these numbers down and that people stay at home.

"This is still a lockdown and people need to follow the lockdown regulations."