In a statement on Monday morning, Weston General Hospital said the temporary measure was implemented at 8am local time, adding that alternative arrangements have been made for new patients to receive treatment in other healthcare facilities.

“We currently have a high number of patients with COVID-19 in Weston General Hospital,” said Dr William Oldfield, medical director at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.

“Whilst the vast majority will have come into the hospital with COVID-19, as an extra precaution we have taken the proactive step to temporarily stop accepting new patients to maintain patient and staff safety… We will keep the situation under constant review,” Oldfield added.

The news comes over a week after the government began easing lockdown measures. A phased reopening of schools is due to start on June 1.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief advisor Dominic Cummings is currently embroiled in controversy for breaching the lockdown by driving some 420 km (260 miles) to his parents’ home while his wife was suffering from coronavirus symptoms.

Earlier this month, Prof. Neil Ferguson - one of the key proponents of the UK going into lockdown - resigned from his role on the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) after it emerged that he broke lockdown rules in allowing a woman, reportedly his lover, to visit his home twice after the restrictions were introduced.

The UK has Europe’s highest death toll from Covid-19, now close to 37,000, with almost 260,000 confirmed cases. There are concerns of a second wave of infections erupting as the lockdown ends.