Brits need to be more cautious as Covid once again rips through the country - with hospitalisations once again set to surge, an expert warned.
Latest data reveals more than 9,000 people admitted to hospital last week had the virus - a 34 per cent rise in just seven days.
And confirmed infections have risen by a third in a week, with 116,312 people testing positive in England, with latest maps showing the virus is spreading in all parts of the country.
Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, told The Mirror people need to be more cautious as they go about their normal business.
He said: "People may want to be cautious with their movements and their behaviours and probably behave more like that did when covid was more in people's consciousness.
"The increase in hospital admissions means the pressure is once again on the NHS, as staffing will become an issue for all services as more nurses and doctors become infected.
"Most people with the infection are feeling unwell enough to be off work."
But he said that allowing those who are infected to carry on as normal is fuelling an increase in cases.
"It’s a catch-22 as people are able to come in to work when they are sick, but then they pass it on to others," he stated.
He added: “We are going to see an increase in hospitalisations over the coming weeks as they are around 10 days to two weeks behind infections”
Health chiefs have warned that the UK faces a "bumpy ride" in its battle against the virus.
Dame Jenny Harries, who is chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, agreed that handwashing after wearing masks in enclosed and busy places would be a sensible way for people to behave.
She said the current wave has not yet peaked, and urged people to "go about their normal lives" but in a "precautionary way".
The UK Health Security Agency chief executive's comments come days after the latest figures showed Covid-19 infections in the UK had jumped by more than half a million in a week.
NHS Providers said hospital trust leaders "know they are in for a bumpy ride over the coming months" with variants of Covid-19 alongside the normal seasonal flu pressures which could hit earlier than usual this year.
Dame Jenny said "It doesn't look as though that wave has finished yet, so we would anticipate that hospital cases will rise. And it's possible, quite likely, that they will actually peak over the previous BA.2 wave.
"But I think the overall impact, we won't know. It's easy to say in retrospect, it's not so easy to model forward."
She said the majority of cases in the UK now are BA.4 and BA.5 and that the latter is "really pushing and driving this current wave".
She added that people should "go about their normal lives but in that precautionary way", highlighting handwashing, keeping distance where possible and wearing a face covering in enclosed, poorly ventilated places.
She said she has not been routinely wearing a face mask, but she does routinely carry one and would wear it on the Tube and if she was with someone who was "quite anxious" about Covid.
A total of 2.3 million people in private households are estimated to have had the virus last week, up 32% from a week earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is the highest estimate for total infections since late April, but is still some way below the record of 4.9 million at the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave at the end of March.
Maps from across Britain show the difference in infection rates in just one month.
The first map shows how much of the country was affected by covid infections just like month, and the second shows the drastic change in the latest figures.
Most parts of England were recording 50-99 cases per 100,000 people for 7–day period ending on June 5, 2022.
By the 7–day period ending on June 26, 2022 most parts of England were recording 200-399 cases per 100,000, according to official government data.
Dame Jenny appealed to the "nearly 20% of the 75-plus year-old group" who have not had their spring booster to come forward.
Saffron Cordery, the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, the membership organisation for NHS hospital, mental health, community and ambulance services, said there is no room for complacency.
She said: "Trust leaders know they are in for a bumpy ride over the coming months as they tackle new and unpredictable variants of Covid-19 alongside grappling with seasonal flu pressures which may hit us earlier than usual this year.
"The policy of living with Covid does not mean Covid has gone away. The latest data shows we cannot afford to be complacent with currently small but concerning increases over the past week in the number of patients both being admitted to hospital with Covid-19 and those needing a ventilator.
"Warnings from Dr Jenny Harries today that community infection rates and hospital admissions are expected to rise further is concerning.
"Waves of Covid-19 and flu will put additional pressure on stretched NHS staff and services and their efforts to tackle waiting lists, deliver efficiencies and transform the NHS, as well as on our hard-pressed colleagues in social care."
