Covid behind dozens of staff absences at Cornwall's hospitals this Christmas
26 workers at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals' Trust were off sick or isolating on Boxing Day alone
Figures show coronavirus was the reason behind dozens of NHS staff absences at Cornwall's main hospitals on Boxing Day.
NHS England's medical director, Stephen Powis, said health services are on "a war footing", with Covid-related staff absences more than doubling in a fortnight.
NHS England data shows 290 staff at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust were off sick on December 26th – the latest date for which data is available.
Of those, 26 were off because they had Covid-19, or were self-isolating due to the virus, which was unchanged from a week before.
Across England, the number of NHS staff off work due to Covid increased from 18,800 on December 19th to 24,600 on Boxing Day – a 31% rise.
Professor Powis said new nurses and reservists were being recruited to deal with pressures, as Nightingale hubs are being set-up across the country to tackle a surge in coronavirus patients.
He added: "We don’t yet know the full scale of rising omicron cases and how this will affect people needing NHS treatment, but having hit a ten-month high for the number of patients in hospital with Covid while wrestling with sharply increasing staff absences, we are doing everything possible to free up beds and get people home to their loved ones".
He added that keeping as many NHS staff as possible at work in the next few weeks would be essential.
People who receive negative lateral flow results on day six and day seven of their self-isolation period – with tests taken 24 hours apart – no longer have to stay indoors for a full 10 days.
But calls are growing on the British government to cut this further, after the US government slashed the self-isolation period to five days for asymptomatic cases.
NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said staff absences could pose a bigger challenge to the health service than patients needing treatment for the virus, with staff having to be redeployed to fill gaps.
Ahead of New Year, the government said while early evidence suggests the new coronavirus variant, Omicron, is less likely to cause serious illness than earlier waves, it stands ready to impose new restrictions in England if necessary.
Now contingency plans are being drawn up amid fears a quarter of workers across the public sector could be absent due to Omicron.
Boris Johnson has told ministers to test preparations for a possible "worst-case scenario", as daily coronavirus numbers continue to hit record levels.
This Christmas was one of the busiest ever for NHS staff in Cornwall and officials say over the coming weeks, the Duchy could also see the impact of the Omicron variant on the demand for hospital and other services.
NHS Kernow is urging everyone to make sure they are fully vaccinated, including boosters.
The latest figures for NHS staff absences can be found on the NHS website.