ELEVEN people are reported to have died of Covid-19 in Hampshire over the weekend.

Four were on Saturday and seven today according to the Office for National Statistics.

After three days of 30+ cases in the Winchester district the figures for Saturday and Sunday was 27 on both days. Two weeks ago the number was four.

The worsening situation can be seen by the fact that in the last seven days to today there have been 183 cases in Winchester district, compared to 76 in the week previously.

In total there have been 2,046 cases since the start of the pandemic, up from 2,019, giving an infection rate of 1,638.6 since March.

In the seven days to last Tuesday, December 15, the Press Association national news agency reports there were 151 cases locally, compared to 55 in the previous seven days.

The rate per 100,000 people in the seven days to December 15 in the Winchester district was 120.9. In the worst-affected areas such as Rushmoor the figure is over 300, and in Havant and Portsmouth, both of which have dropped into the new tier 4 of the tightest controls, the number is between 277-298 per 100,000.

Winchester is in the bottom 25 for infection rates out of more than 300 local authorities across the UK, as are New Forest, Test Valley and Eastleigh.

The latest information is that there are currently 30 Covid patients at the RHCH compared to 39 at the start of the month. There are 45 at Basingstoke hospital compared to 69 previously.

For clarity ‘Winchester district’ comprises more than the built-up city and is the council area which stretches from Micheldever in the north to Southwick in the south, from Sparsholt in the west to Bramdean in the east.

In the NHS across Hampshire seven people are reported to have died today, with two in the HHFT area that includes the Royal Hampshire County Hospital. Across the county's NHS some 827 people have died since March.

In Winchester City Council area the figures for deaths is 102, no change. In Portsmouth it is 117, up two, and 138 in Southampton, up one.

The Office for National Statistics reports that 964 have died in the Hampshire County Council area, with an increase of seven today.

So far, at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust there have been 232 deaths, up two; 233 people have died at University Hospital Southampton, no change, whilst at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust the toll is now 336, up five.