Almost 60 deaths linked to Covid were announced by east London hospitals last week.

Last week, 20 Covid patients died at King George Hospital and Queen’s Hospital, run by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT).

A total of 15 patients died at the five hospitals run by Barts Health NHS Trust, which includes Whipps Cross in Leytonstone.

BHRUT retrospectively confirmed the deaths of 20 patients with Covid in previous weeks, while Barts confirmed three.

Read more: More than 100 people definitely caught Covid at King George Hospital and Queen's Hospital

This week, all of London will step down into Tier 2 of lockdown, as a month-long national lockdown ends, meaning the area is on “high alert”.

Redbridge’s director of public health has said the move is “probably correct” for the borough, while Havering’s has expressed concern it might not be enough to reduce infections.

There were 742 new Covid infections in the borough last week, meaning the rate of new infections is more than 200 per 100,000 residents.

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