Latest updates: further 367 Covid-19 deaths confirmed on Tuesday, highest number since May, as hospitals cancel non-urgent operations
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The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 could more than double within weeks, the former chief scientific adviser to the government has said.
Prof Sir Mark Walport said it was “not unrealistic” to think that there could be 25,000 people in hospitals by the end of November. It comes as pressure mounts on medical staff, with more than 9,000 patients in hospitals with Covid-19.
The environment secretary, George Eustice, who is doing the interview rounds on behalf of the government this morning, has said tiered restrictions for local areas have been introduced in a “timely way” and a national lockdown is “not appropriate”.
Speaking on Times Radio on Wednesday morning, he said: “In some ways we’ve always anticipated that there would be a second spike.
