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Coronavirus: England hospital admissions up 25% in a single day

People at a test centre in Liverpool, which has the country's third-highest infection rate.
People at a test centre in Liverpool, which has the country's third-highest infection rate.


The UK has recorded another 14,542 coronavirus cases - almost 2,000 more than yesterday - while hospital admissions in England have hit a four-month high.

Another 76 deaths linked to the virus were also reported on Tuesday, taking the total to 42,445.

Official figures reveal there were 478 new hospital admissions in England on Sunday - the most recent day that figures are available for.

That's more than a 25% increase on the 386 admitted on Saturday, and the most since 3 June, when it was 491.

On Tuesday, a total of 2,783 patients were in English hospitals with COVID-19, an increase from 1,881 a week earlier.

There were 349 on ventilators, compared with 259 seven days ago.

The latest figures follow several days of confusion as 16,000 cases in England were missed by the NHS Test and Trace scheme.

Downing Street said that, as of Tuesday morning, 63% of the positive cases had been contacted following the weekend's data glitch.

Cases continue to rise across parts of England, with the latest weekly infection figures showing that Manchester's rate has soared, with 2,927 new cases recorded in the seven days to 2 October - the equivalent of 529.4 cases per 100,000 people.

Knowsley and Liverpool have the second and third-highest rates, at 498.5 and 487.1 respectively.

Nottingham City Council is urging people to follow stricter guidelines as coronavirus cases at universities in the region continue to climb.

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said new coronavirus restrictions - set to be announced on Wednesday - will not equate to a second lockdown.

She said the new measures will not include travel restrictions on the whole country except for "hotspot" areas in some cases, and the public will not be asked to stay in their own homes.

Meanwhile, MPs have voted in favour of COVID-19 regulations which enforce the rule of six in England by 287 votes to 17.

The regulations are already in force, with the motion offering a retrospective vote on it.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson had urged MPs to back the rule, with his official spokesman describing the ban on more than six people mixing as a "sensible and helpful" measure.

During his Conservative Party conference speech on Tuesday, Mr Johnson set out promises on social care, green energy and housing as he launched a strident defence of the private sector and vowed to "build back better" from the crisis.

He predicted the coronavirus pandemic would be a "trigger for an acceleration of social and economic change, because we human beings will not simply content ourselves with a repair job".