More than 500 people with Covid have died in Stevenage's Lister Hospital, since the start of the pandemic.

The latest data is published on the website of the East and North Herts NHS Trust, which operates the Stevenage hospital.

And it shows that as of Wednesday (May 5) the number of Covid in-patient deaths at the Trust was 509.

On Wednesday (May 5) a meeting of the Trust board took a more detailed look at the 414 Covid deaths that had occurred at the hospital before January 31.

A report to the board indicated that that 179 of those deaths had occurred before November 12 last year (2020) – but that the majority had occurred later.

And so it suggests that there had been far more deaths in the second wave – with 51 deaths reported in a single week (w/e 24 January).

Analysis of all Covid in-patient deaths recorded at the hospital to January 31, shows that 273 (that's 66 per cent) had been men. And 141 (34 per cent) had been female.

The data continues to show that in-patient Covid deaths are highest amongst older age groups. But in the latest wave there were deaths amongst the 30-39 age group.

According to the report, over-80s accounted for more than half of the 414 deaths before January 31 – with 86 who were 90 and over and 149 who were aged between 80 and 89. A further 99 deaths were of patients aged between 70 and 79.

Of the remaining 80 Covid deaths in hospital, 47 were aged 60-69; 22 were 50-59; six were 40-49; and five were 30-39.

The report says that the figures do "not demonstrate a bias towards BAME population, but this may be a reflection of the demographics of the Hertfordshire region".

The data was included is a wider report presented to the Trust board entitled, 'Learning from Deaths Report'.

Meanwhile it was also reported to the board that during March there was one case of hospital-acquired Covid at the Trust.

Data shows that since May 15 last year (2020) to the end of March (2021) there have been 88 cases of hospital-acquired Covid at the Trust, with patients testing positive 15 or more days after admission.

There have been 165 'probable' cases of hospital acquired infection – with positive tests recorded between eight and 14 days after admission.

And they have recorded a total of 146 'indeterminate' cases, where positive test results are recorded between three and seven days after admission.

Following the meeting, Dr Michael Chilvers, medical director at the Trust, highlighted the steps that were taken to halt the spread of the virus.

And he said: "Every death is a tragedy and our thoughts are with the families and friends who have lost a loved one.

"We follow strict national infection prevention and control guidelines in our hospitals, and urge the public to continue to follow government advice on social distancing, hand hygiene and wearing face masks to help stop the spread of Covid in the community."

The Trust stress that they deliver safe, high-quality care for all patients, which they say is shown by the overall proportion of deaths being amongst the lowest in the country.

And they point to data that suggests that rising infection rates in any hospital are due to rising rates in the community.