Hospital bosses in Cornwall say they now face the challenge of learning to live with Covid-19 after revealing that the number of people in hospital with the virus has dropped significantly.

A meeting of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) board heard today that there are now 30 people in hospital with Covid-19 and none in the intensive treatment unit (ITU).

Susan Bracefield, chief operating officer for the trust, said that since the last board meeting in March the trust had seen a peak in Covid-19 cases but said that was now changing.

She said: “The position is improving at long last and may that last as well. Since my last presentation we had a peak in Covid, but I can report today that there are now around 30 in-patients with Covid and none in ITU. We also no longer have any closed beds due to Covid.”

Ms Bracefield said that at one point during the pandemic the Truro hospital had 50% of adult beds “out of action” due to Covid cases and said to get that down to 30 is “phenomenal”.

The board heard that visiting restrictions at the hospital had relaxed further as a result in the drop of cases with all patients now allowed two visitors.

However visitors must not visit if they have any Covid-19 symptoms or have been in contact with anyone with Covid-19 in the past ten days. Visits are still restricted to an hour at a time and visitors are told they must follow hand hygiene guidelines and wear PPE as advised.

Ms Bracefield said that with the drop in Covid-19 cases and number of patients in hospital with the virus the focus of the trust would now change. She said: “The main challenge now is we have to live with Covid and we have to find a way of managing it and the transition from dedicated Covid wards.”

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The board heard that the impact of Covid-19 on staffing levels had been significant in March with a big spike in the number of staff off sick with the virus.

A report stated: “Sickness levels have increased dramatically during March – this is reflective of the massive upsurge in Covid cases amongst staff and the reduction in controls away from the hospital site. This is the worst sickness absence rate in recent history – and certainly throughout the whole of the pandemic period that began in March 2020. Aside from Covid we continue to see high rates of stress related absence, but these appear a much lower proportion of total sickness owing to the Covid impact. The rate of staff Covid cases is now showing signs of slowing down.”

Ms Bracefield praised the efforts of staff during the pandemic and the hard work which had been shown across the Trust. This was echoed by board chairwoman, Dr Mairi McLean, who said: “I just want to completely endorse what you have been saying about how well everybody has done in very difficult circumstances.”

Dr McLean had particular praise for the trust’s infection control team and the work they had done, she added: “Everybody deserves a big pat on the back.”