It has been more than 20 days since a hospital trust recorded any Covid-19 deaths.

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust has not reported a coronavirus death at any of its hospitals since July 13, according to the daily NHS data.

It is the longest spell of no coronavirus deaths at the hospital since the pandemic began back in March.

In total, the trust has recorded 369 deaths.

Deaths in south west Hertfordshire outside of west Hertfordshire hospitals remain very low too, compared to what we saw during the peak of the pandemic.

No coronavirus deaths were reported of any residents living in Watford, Hertsmere, or Three Rivers in the week ending July 24, according to the latest data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The last time that happened was the week beginning March 14.

In fact, only one coronavirus death was reported in Hertfordshire between July 19 and July 24 – in the St Albans district.

The table below shows how much our area has recovered since the peak in early to mid-April, with deaths in single digits in each of the boroughs and districts.

Over the last three weeks of data, there have been a total of 13 coronavirus deaths across Watford, Hertsmere, Three Rivers, St Albans, and Dacorum.

Cases

At a press conference on Wednesday morning, director of Public Health England in Hertfordshire, Dr Jim McManus, and Hertfordshire County Council’s executive member for public health, Cllr Tim Hutchings were very content with the situation currently in the county.

Case numbers are low across the borough, although there was a small uptake very recently in Watford, where as many as 17 cases were reported over a weekly period.

Dr McManus said these cases were mainly spread in the community and workplace and praised Watford Borough Council for the job it has done contacting these workplaces.

Watford Observer:

Anyone experiencing any symptoms of coronavirus is encouraged to get a test

Read more: List of coronavirus testing centres in Hertfordshire

Dr McManus was also very impressed with the preparations made by community leaders in Watford ahead of the Muslim festival Eid last week.

But both Dr McManus and Cllr Hutchings were adamant Hertfordshire is “not out of the woods yet” and with hot sunny weather expected over the next few days, residents are being urged to socially distance, particularly youngsters.

Cllr Hutchings said the “vast majority” of people living and working in Hertfordshire have been “terrific” and said that “plenty” are complying with face covering rules.

Dr McManus added that the reopening of pubs, restaurants, and bars in the county have not led to a spike in cases yet, and said he was not aware of any establishments that have had to close temporarily due to an outbreak.

The table below shows the current infection rates for our area.