Coronavirus cases in England have “increased rapidly”, data shows, as ministers grapple with what to do next.
Estimates suggest between one-in-170 and one-in-240 people you meet in the street has the virus.
Both current cases, and the speed at which they are increasing, are much higher in the north of England than the national average.
Scientific advisers warn hospital admissions are “very close” to levels in early March.
A deluge of data shows a clear pattern of rising cases:
The R number – the average number of people each infected person passes the virus onto – is now estimated between 1.2 and 1.5. Anything above 1.0 means cases are increasing.
The Covid Symptom Study app – which uses data from 4 million people and 12,000 swab tests – estimates 21,903 people are developing Covid symptoms every day across the UK. That is 1,000-a-day more than a week ago.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates 224,000 people in homes in England had the virus, up to 1 October. That is roughly double the figure reported for each of the last two weeks, and suggests hopes of a “levelling off” last week may have been a false dawn.
The ONS estimates that one in 500 people is infected in Wales and Northern Ireland.
The number of people in the UK to have tested positive for coronavirus rose by 13,864 on Friday, the figure on the same date a month ago was 3,330.