HOSPITALISATIONS of patients who have tested positive for coronavirus have fallen in the North-East and Yorkshire to their lowest since mid-October.

Most recent NHS data from across the region shows how the number of Covid admissions started to fall in the last week of November.

It comes as the North-East is set to be placed under Tier 3 restrictions from tomorrow as the four-week national lockdown comes to an end.

READ MORE: Covid cases continue to FALL in all areas in the North-East as we head for Tier 3 

The data, which is from every NHS Trust across the North-East and Yorkshire, and published today has shown a downwards trend in Covid hospitalisations.

It showed that on Friday, November 27, there were 236 admissions of Covid positive patients into hospitals across the region.

The last time the figure was near that level was on Monday, October 19, when hospitals here recorded 222 admissions.

Between then, hospitals here have seen huge rises in daily admissions with hospitals admitting hundreds of patients per day.

The highest admission in the second wave was recorded on Tuesday, November 10 where 464 patients were admitted in 24 hours.

But the data revealed hospital admissions started to fall consistently in the last week of November.

When it comes to the number of Covid patients that have been placed on specialist equipment, a drop has also been recorded.

In the seven days leading to Sunday, November 29, the number of patients requiring a mechanical ventilator started to see a drop.

On that Sunday, there were 204 patients using such equipment in hospitals in the North-East and Yorkshire.

Compared to the previous Sunday, on November 23, there were 244 patients requiring a ventilator here.

Last night, signs that Covid cases had started to fall signalled signs that life could return to "normality" sooner if residents continued to follow the rules.

The Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the fall in infections had come as a "huge relief" as he warned residents they are "not out of the woods" just yet.

He said: “It is important to stress that we are not out of the woods yet and we all should be doing everything we can to stop this virus spreading to protect our families, loved

"If everyone can keep going and keep up the fight as we get through Christmas and the roll out of a vaccine, there will be plenty of good times ahead and a lot to look forward to in 2021."