The number of patients with Covid in east London hospitals has begun to fall, data suggests.

Data snapshots from Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) and Barts Health show a decrease in confirmed cases across hospitals compared with seven days earlier, following several consecutive week-on-week increases.

BHRUT, which runs Queen’s Hospital in Romford and King George Hospital in Goodmayes, was treating 185 patients with laboratory-confirmed Covid yesterday (January 19).

This was a 16 per cent drop from the 221 cases recorded a week earlier.

The latest figure includes 16 people in critical care beds - down from 19 the previous Wednesday.

Barts Health yesterday had a total of 330 patients with confirmed Covid across its five hospitals, which include The Royal London in Whitechapel, Mile End Hospital and Newham Hospital in Plaistow.

This was down from 392 last week - also a 16pc decrease.

Of the current patients with Covid, 29 were in critical care beds or receiving enhanced levels of oxygen - compared to 42 the previous Wednesday.

Neither data set make a distinction between patients who were hospitalised with Covid and those who tested positive after being admitted.