New wards are ready to be opened if Furness General Hospital cannot cope with rising demand from Covid cases.

Bosses from the Morecambe Bay Hospital Trust said they had seen an increase in patients who had tested positive for the virus.

Additional capacity is said to have been built at hospitals in the trust, including expanded emergency departments and ‘surge wards’.

Cumbria's director of public health revealed that there are 61 patients with coronavirus being treated across the University Hospitals of Morecambe NHS Foundation Trust. Twenty of those are at Furness General Hospital.

Demand is said to be nbout half of what it was during the peak of the pandemic and health bosses say they are determined to keep apart patients who have tested positive for Covid with those who have not.

Kate Maynard, chief operating officer of UHMBT, said: “We are seeing an increase in the numbers of patients who have tested positive in our hospital beds locally.

“We are continuing to treat them while ensuring our restoration and recovery work continues so patients waiting for treatment continue to be seen.

“To that end we have built additional capacity in our hospitals, including expanded emergency departments, and what we call surge wards which can be opened when it is needed. The prime concern is keeping separate our patients who have tested positive for coronavirus from those who haven’t.”

Urging people to comply with safety measures, she said: “Our winter planning has taken place across the system to ensure that ourselves, GPs, and social care are working together to ensure services are available.

"We would reiterate that the public can help contribute to their own - and others' - safety, by ensuring they continue to wash their hands, keep at least 2m from others and wear face masks where needed.”