The number of people in hospital with Covid soared by 183 per cent in a month - with one hotspot now recording 32 times more patients than they were.
On June 22 there were 805 people being treated for the virus in hospitals, but by Thursday last week this had risen to 2,280.
The most alarming rise was recorded in by the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, where the number of Covid patients soared from just three to its current figure of 96.
South Tyneside is one of the country's worst-affected areas, with a rate of 882.3 cases per 100,000, down from 1,235.3 a week ago, while Sunderland's rate is only slightly lower at 872.9.
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