An NHS trust has urged the public to follow strict lockdown rules to help ease hospital pressures as it sees an increase in the number of Covid-19 patients.
The County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust confirmed it was treating 177 patients with Covid-19 on Wednesday in its hospitals.
A spokeswoman said: "The number of patients with Covid-19 is increasing and we have plans in place to manage the pressure on our services to ensure we continue giving all our patients the best care."
The trust also confirmed it had taken the decision to stand down some elective procedures.
The spokeswoman added: "This has involved making the difficult decision to stand down some orthopaedic elective surgery. We understand the distress this will cause to those affected and we will reschedule these as soon as possible."
While the trust acknowledged their hospitals are very busy, it said it is coping thanks to the hard work of its staff.
"We urge the public to do their bit to help us by following all the guidance and by staying at home as much as possible," the spokeswoman added.
A further 2,545 Covid-19 cases were recorded in County Durham in the week December 27 to January 2, according to Public Health England. The total number of cases in the county to January 6 stands at 26,651.
Latest figures show 1,079 coronavirus-related deaths were registered in County Durham up until December 25.
