An expert has warned that there could be high levels of coronavirus cases and deaths 'until spring'.
Professor Neil Ferguson, the scientist whose modelling prompted the UK-wide lockdown in March, told the PA news agency that measures in Tier 2 and Tier 3 areas are "unlikely to cause daily cases and deaths to fall rapidly".
On Tuesday the UK recorded its highest daily number of deaths in five months.
A further 367 coronavirus deaths were recorded in the UK - the highest daily figure since May 27, when 422 deaths were reported - and brings the UK death toll to more than 45,000.
Prof Ferguson, a former chief scientific adviser to the government, said modelling suggests this could leave the country with high caseloads for several months and added the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 could more than double within weeks.
Professor Sir Mark Walport also added it is "not unrealistic" to say there could be 25,000 people in hospital by the end of November.
Prof Ferguson, from Imperial College London, told PA: "The concern at the moment is that even if the measures adopted in Tier 2 and Tier 3 areas slow spread in the next few weeks, they are unlikely to cause daily cases and deaths to fall rapidly.
"Modelling from all the academic groups informing Sage suggests that this could leave the country with high levels of Covid circulation, healthcare demand and mortality for several months, at least until spring 2021."
The comments come as the Nightingale hospital in Manchester will start receiving patients who do not have Covid-19 from today.
Other hospitals across England have announced measures to cope with additional pressures from the virus including the postponement of some planned operations.
Sir Mark, a member of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the UK is "still relatively early in the second wave".
But added: "The number of cases is rising very significantly – it was 22,800 on October 27 and the seven-day average was just over 22,000. So there are an awful lot of cases.
"One of the differences of course is that we are better at looking after people with coronavirus now.
"And so hopefully the case fatality rate will be lower than it was in the first wave. But at the end of the day, the fatality rate, the number of people who die, is a product of the number of people who are infected and their vulnerability."
Asked about the possibility of 25,000 people being in hospital by the end of November, he said: "It's certainly not unrealistic to think about that."
