Coronavirus: 10,000 UK patients now in hospital with Covid-19

The number of daily cases has risen by more than 23,000.

Health workers wearing full personal protective equipment tend to a patient on the intensive care unit at Whiston Hospital in Merseyside. (PA)

More than 10,000 Covid-19 patients are now being treated in UK hospitals — nearly 1,000 of them ventilators — according to latest daily figures from the government. 

The number has risen in recent days, but has yet to reach the 20,000 seen at the height of the first wave of the pandemic earlier this year.

However figures have continued to grow beyond those seen during the first peak in isolated regions. Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust had the highest number of beds occupied by coronavirus patients in England on Tuesday at 450, according to new NHS England data - followed by Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust in Greater Manchester which had 290.

In Nottinghamshire, which has been subject to Tier 3 lockdown restrictions, the number of hospitalisations is 40 per cent higher than those seen in April.

The county’s public health director Jonathan Gribbin said “even a well-organised NHS and care system will struggle to cope” with the sharp rise in patients in the county’s hospitals.

According to statistics from Nottinghamshire County Council, 361 beds across the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System (ICS) were occupied by Covid-19 patients as of October 27.

Mr Gribbin said that figure increased to 413 beds the following day, adding: “I think straight away it gives you an indication of how quickly it’s increasing.”

During a media briefing on Thursday, he said: “As of yesterday that 413 figure represents around 40% above what we saw at the wave one peak back in April time.

“Dr Keith Girling, the medical director at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) has been telling us that the number of Covid-19 patients admitted each day is enough to fill a whole ward.

“In fact at NUH yesterday, there were 49 patients - more than a ward - admitted with Covid-19.”

It comes as cases and fatalities continue to rise across the nation amid calls for a new national lockdown to stem the spread of the virus.

The Government said a further 280 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Thursday. This brings the UK total to 45,955.

Separate figures published by the UK's statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 61,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

The Government said that, as of 9am on Thursday, there had been a further 23,065 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK. It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 965,340.

Additional reporting by agencies