London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

UK Covid case numbers hit another record high at more than 189,000

UK Covid case numbers hit another record high at more than 189,000

Thursday’s figure is new daily record, with the number of people in hospital and deaths also rising
Confirmed daily Covid cases in the UK hit yet another high on Thursday, with 189,213 reported in the past 24 hours, while the number of people in hospital and deaths have also risen, data reveals.

On Wednesday 183,037 daily cases were reported for the whole of the UK – a record at the time – although this figure included a backlog in some nations from before and during the Christmas period, with five days of case data included for Northern Ireland. Thursday’s newly reported cases for Wales covered a two-day period.

But experts have warned daily case figures do not include reinfections and not everyone who is infected has symptoms and takes a test, meaning despite cases reaching new highs the true number of infections will be higher still.

The latest data also reveals that a further 332 people have died within 28 days of a positive Covid test.

The figures are a steep rise on the 57 deaths reported on Wednesday. Experts say the jump is, in part, because NHS England has not reported hospital deaths since 24 December.

The number of Covid patients in hospital has also increased in England, according to the latest data, with 11,452 reported on Thursday.

In Scotland, it was announced on Thursday that there were 810 patients in hospital with recently confirmed Covid, an increase of 19.3% compared with the day before.

Commenting on Twitter, Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the record case figures reflect that Omicron is highly infectious.

“Just as notable than cases is the steep rise in hospital occupancy, the largest single day increase in a while – a reminder that even if there is a lower percentage hospitalised through Omicron, sheer volume will still put acute pressure on NHS – and result in serious illness for many,” she wrote, adding that she was “appealing to everyone” to follow public health advice as the new year approached.

In a written statement Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales, said that the public health situation in Wales “has deteriorated in the last week as the Omicron wave has arrived”, adding that while hospitalisations are lower than in previous waves, they are also are starting to increase.

According to the latest figures the number of Covid patients in hospital in Wales is now 446, a 49% increase compared with last week. However, Drakeford said Wales was not reporting a rise in the number of Covid patients needing critical care.

Prof Christina Pagel, director of UCL’s Clinical Operational Research Unit, said that reported case levels in England are now more than twice as high as the previous peak last January, and have not yet peaked, while cases are rising in all groups apart from under-10s. Hospital admissions, she added, are also rising in all age groups.

While data suggested fewer admissions are leading to intensive care, Pagel said the situation was worrying. “An NHS crisis based on the wards instead of ICU is still an NHS crisis,” she tweeted.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
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
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×