The East Lancashire Hospital Trust (ELHT) has announced face masks are mandatory from today - Friday July 8 -due to an increase in Covid cases across the region.

Visitors to the ELHT hospitals, which include Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, Burnley General Teaching Hospital, Clitheroe Community hospital and Pendle Community Hospital, will be givena face mask to wear upon entry to the buildings if they have not brought their own.

Visitors are also encouraged to use hand sanitiser upon entry and exit.

A spokesperson for East Lancashire Hospitals Trust said: “Due to the increase in COVID in our communities, all colleagues, patients and visitors will need to wear a mask in all areas - both clinical and non-clinical - to help protect everyone's wellbeing.

“This guidance will be reviewed regularly but keeping everyone safe is the Trust's number one priority.

“Face mask dispensers are at all entrances and colleagues, patients and visitors are also encouraged to continue to gel their hands on entry and exit to our buildings and settings.”

This update comes as admissions to intensive care units in England of people testing positive for Covid-19 have risen for the second week in a row and are now at levels last seen in mid-April.

Total hospital admissions are also continuing to increase, with patient levels nearing the peak reached during the previous wave of infections in the Spring.

Health experts have warned the numbers are likely to carry on rising throughout July, driven by a “substantial amount” of waning immunity among older people.

Older and vulnerable people are due to be offered a fourth booster jab in the Autumn - much like the annual flu jab - to give maximum protection from Covid heading into the colder months.

The current wave is being driven by the variants Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, which are now the dominant strains of Covid-19 in the UK, and are more transmissible than the BA.2 variant that caused infection levels to reach an all-time high earlier in the year.

According to the latest Government data, in seven days to July 1, there were 256 coronavirus cases reported in the Blackburn with Darwen borough.

This is up 24 per cent on the week before.

In Rossendale 147 cases have been reported (24 per cent increase), in Hyndburn there were 138 positive cases (31 per cent increase), Burnley saw 191 reported cases (up 31 per cent), in Ribble Valley 159 positive cases were reported (up 37 per cent), and in Pendle there were 135 positive cases (46 per cent increase).

Nationally, cases are up 26 per cent and in the week to July 1 there were 454 deaths from Covid-19.