A new Covid-19 variant is being monitored "very closely" by the government as infection rates and hospitalisations rise across England.
It comes as 7,822 patients had coronavirus in England on June 27, up 37 per cent on the previous week, new NHS figures show.
It is the highest total for nearly two months but is still some way below the peak of 16,600 patients during the Omicron BA.2 wave of infections earlier in the year.
