Covid restrictions may have to come back if the situation across the UK continues to get worse, an England health minister has said. Infection rates have risen to around 325,000 new cases a day - and rising hospitalisations could put more pressure on the NHS.
The number of people with Covid is estimated to have jumped 18% last week to 2.7 million. There are 13,386 people in hospital with Covid in England.
The highest the number reached during the pandemic was 16,600. Experts say BA.5, a subvariant of Omicron, is rapidly becoming the dominant strain in the UK.
