More than 100 people at a city region hospital trust now have coronavirus after 20 more patients were admitted over the weekend.
The sudden rise in admissions at Warrington and Halton Hospitals saw the total number of positive patients reach 109 on Monday morning (October 19).
The figure is 50% higher than it was last week. If admissions continue rising at the same rate, the trust could pass its previous peak within days.
During the first wave, the trust saw the total of coronavirus-positive inpatients peak at 124 on April 12, a figure it could reach by Friday if hospitalisations continue to rise.
There are currently 14 patients in ICU with coronavirus, up from nine last Monday but still some way off the peak of 22 seen on April 9.
Figures released on Monday also show that there was one coronavirus death at the hospital trust over the weekend.
Hospitals across the Liverpool City Region have come under increasing pressure since the end of August as cases of coronavirus have soared.
The medical director of Liverpool’s main hospital trust, Dr Tristan Cope, warned that hospitals in the city were “dangerously close” to being overwhelmed by coronavirus patients, while Whiston Hospital has said it may have to defer routine appointments to cope with the rise in coronavirus cases.
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The situation in the region's hospitals was one factor that saw the Liverpool City Region placed into Tier 3 lockdown restrictions last week.
But it is likely to be at least another week until it becomes clear what impact those restrictions have had on the spread of the disease.
