The NHS logo ENGLAND S hospitals now have more Covid-19 patients than during April s first-wave peak as a health boss warned doctors and nurses are back in the eye of the storm. NHS England figures show there were 20,426 patients in NHS hospitals in England as of 8am on Monday, compared to the 18,974 patients recorded on April 12. The number of further lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus recorded in a single day in the UK also hit a new high of 41,385 as of 9am Monday, rising above 40,000 for the first time, according to Government figures. Cases figures do not include information from Scotland and Northern Ireland, which did not report data between December 24 and 28, meaning the true number is even higher.
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Boris Johnson could plunge MILLIONS into Tier 4 Covid lockdown TODAY as two thirds of England face tougher curbs
Matt Dathan
Updated: 30 Dec 2020, 7:32
Matt Dathan
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TWO thirds of England could be put into Tier 4 lockdown from as early as today after daily Covid cases soared to a record 53,135.
The PM was yesterday deciding whether to extend the toughest laws to Lancashire, the Midlands and Cumbria.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson, pictured returning from a jog yesterday with dog Dilyn, chaired a meeting to discuss the new tiers last nightCredit: Peter Jordan - The Sun
Ambulances lined up outside the hospital in Whitechapel
‘National restrictions needed to prevent catastrophe’ amid rising UK hospital cases
Dominic Lipinski
By PA Reporters
National coronavirus restrictions are needed to prevent a “catastrophe” amid rising infections, an expert has warned, as England’s hospitals deal with more Covid-19 patients than during the April peak of the first wave.
Tighter measures are required to tackle the new variant of the virus, which is the main reason for the increase in cases, said Professor Andrew Hayward, of the Government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag).
The reopening of schools would see the need for “increased, strict restrictions” in other areas of society “to pay for that”, he added.
Hospitals running out of oxygen and could house Covid patients in tents, medics warn
Patient admissions expected to rise further after UK sees record number of coronavirus cases for second day running
NHS hospitals are running out of oxygen, medics claimed on Tuesday as they began planning to set up makeshift tents to try and cope with an influx of coronavirus patients.
Areas hit hardest by the second wave of the virus began cancelling cancer treatments as well as elective surgery amid fears that seriously ill patients were again avoiding Accident and Emergency departments.
Patients were having to be moved more than 65 miles to the nearest hospital with intensive care capacity, medics warned.