The number of coronavirus deaths in North East hospitals peaked either side of the Easter weekend.

Figures show that 49 people died in hospitals across the region on Good Friday, April 10 and Tuesday, April 14 – the highest daily number so far.

The peak in England as a whole was slightly earlier on April 8, when 857 people died in the country’s hospitals.

The number of daily Covid-19 deaths reported by NHS trusts across the North East has now fallen to below 25 every day for the past week, according to the latest statistics released by NHS England.

There have been a total of 976 coronavirus deaths in North East hospitals up to Monday, April 27.

Graph showing the number of reported Covid 19 Deaths n North East hospitals, up to April 27.

The figures only take into account Covid-19 deaths that have taken place in hospitals, not in care homes or in the community, and the regional number has been calculated by combining figures from nine NHS trusts serving the area.

The total number of deaths reported by each trust so far are:

County Durham And Darlington NHS Foundation Trust - 155

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne And Wear NHS Foundation Trust - 7

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust - 100

North Tees And Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust - 69

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - 132

South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - 172

South Tyneside And Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust - 254

Tees, Esk And Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust - 5

The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - 82

Prof Eugene Milne, Newcastle City Council’s director of public health, said that the peak in the North East was broadly in line with the rest of the country, though the data was hard to interpret because of factors such as weekend delays to death registrations.

But he stressed that recent weeks have only been the first peak of the virus and that there could be a resurgence as lockdown measures are eased.

Prof Milne said: “There has been talk about a gap [between London and the rest of the UK] and London was certainly in advance of us. But actually I don’t think the gap is as big as all that in terms of the numbers we are seeing.

“What is worth remembering though is that some of the numbers are small, so they can vary quite a lot from day to day. And of course there are other things that play into that, for example, the timing of death registrations, the impact of weekends on reporting, that make it difficult to interpret.

"But I don’t think we are that different from the rest of the country in terms of where we are at the moment.

“If there is anything to take from the difference between London and the rest of the country, I would suggest that it is that we locked down a little bit sooner and that is advantageous for the region. An earlier lockdown in the course of the epidemic is important.

“But people need to be aware that this is only the first peak. The majority of the population has still not been exposed to Covid because of the measures that have been taken. What we need is a very measured approach so that we don't have a resurgence of Covid later in the year. That is a thing we are beginning to think about quite a lot.

“We are concerned about having a resurgence of Covid at the same time we get a flu outbreak and then you have a double whammy in the winter months.

“We are talking a lot about preparing for winter and ensuring that flu and pneumococcal vaccinations are in place and that there are adequate supplies to protect the population.”