London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Covid: England reports record 117,000 daily cases

Covid: England reports record 117,000 daily cases

Covid cases in England have hit another record high, with a further 117,093 infections reported on Tuesday.

Some 9,546 people are in hospital with Covid, the highest since March but well below the peak of 34,000 in January.

So far, the surge in cases driven by Omicron has not led to a similarly sharp rise in hospital admissions, even taking into account the lag between infection and hospital treatment.

Full UK-wide Covid data has been unavailable over the Christmas period.

The UK government's Covid dashboard recorded a further 129,471 cases on Tuesday - but that figure only includes data from England and Wales and reflects different time periods.

It is likely that a full national picture will only be available again in the first week of January.

The record cases come as a UK minister said people should enjoy themselves but be cautious when celebrating new year.

Care minister Gillian Keegan said revellers should take a lateral flow test before going out and celebrate in well-ventilated areas.

Unlike Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the government has decided against introducing new Covid measures in England ahead of new year.

Prof Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, told the BBC's Today programme the decision not to introduce new curbs before then was "probably fine", with data showing "very low" numbers of vaccinated people in intensive care.

He said the Omicron variant was "not the same disease" we saw last year, adding he thought "the horrific scenes that we saw a year ago" were "now history".

Not all experts have agreed with the government's decision though, with Prof Andrew Hayward - epidemiologist and a member of the advisory group Sage - saying ministers seemed to be acting "on the optimistic end of the spectrum".

But Environment Secretary George Eustice told the BBC that while there were early signs that Omicron was leading to fewer hospital admissions than previous waves, ministers would not hesitate to act if necessary.

The latest figures from Wales suggested a steep rise in cases in the days before Christmas, while infections in Scotland remain among the highest recorded. No cases data has been available for Northern Ireland since 24 December.


England saw another 1,374 Covid hospital admissions on 26 December - the highest number since February.

Not all the patients in hospital will have been admitted for Covid - latest data suggests about three in 10 have the virus but were admitted to hospital for something else.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said some trust bosses thought self-isolating staff would be a "bigger problem" than the number of people being treated for Covid.

And he told the BBC that while there may come a point where Covid is treated like a common cold, that should not be the case for people who work in the NHS, as they dealt with potentially "very, very vulnerable" people.

Omicron: What we know


* This variant is very contagious and spreads faster than others

* Vaccines and boosters are still essential and do a great job at protecting against severe disease

* It is milder - if you catch it, the risk of needing hospital treatment is up to 70% lower than with previous variants - but that is largely because many of us have built up immunity from vaccines and past infections rather than changes to the virus

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
×