BASINGSTOKE residents have been told to do “all they can to stay safe” by the hospital’s chief nurse as pressure mounts on the NHS.

The number of Covid-positive patients needing treatment at Basingstoke hospital has more than quadrupled since the start of November, with 63 inpatients requiring care for the disease as of Tuesday.

Hampshire’s ambulance service is also asking people only to call 999 in an emergency after taking more than 2,000 calls on December 27.

South Central Ambulance Service said they had 12.5 per cent more calls on Boxing Day than they did on the same day in 2019.

It comes as four Covid deaths were recorded at Hampshire Hospitals over the Christmas period.

You can read the full story in this week’s edition of The Gazette. Also in this week's paper:

  • An interactive map has revealed that one area of Basingstoke and Deane has seen an increase in Covid cases of nearly 400 per cent. 
  • A Basingstoke gospel singer who discovered music playing the keyboard at his local church is ending the year on a high after scooping his first MOBO award. .
  • Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is looking for a new partner to help run the town’s annual two-day music and arts festival from 2021 as ‘rising costs’ mean it is at risk of cuts.
  • A Basingstoke man who poisoned a woman with a substance he bought online before attempting to rape her has been jailed for seven years. 
  • Residents of Basingstoke and Deane wishing to hold a public firework display should advertise their events in advance to mitigate the impacts the loud bangs can have on vulnerable residents and animals, in line with a new motion passed by the borough council last week. 
  • Reporter James Ashworth takes a look at the issues surrounding air quality in Basingstoke.
  • Although Ofsted suspended routine school inspections in March, the Gazette provides parents with a list of the Basingstoke and Deane secondary schools which have been told to improve by Ofsted following an inspection.
  • Five teachers from across Basingstoke and Deane have been recognised by the county council.
  • PLUS: All the latest from Basingstoke Magistrates' Court.
  • Two pages of your letters to the editor.
  • Pictures: A selection of 'festive faces and places' from our camera club this month
  • The latests news from our communities.
  • 2020: Year in Review
  • A four-page puzzle special.
  • New Years Day TV guide.
  • Two pages of entertainment news.
  • Four pages of sports news. And much more!

  

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