There are currently more than 950 people in hospital with coronavirus in the UK, the latest figures reveal.
The most recent government data - as of May 24 - shows there are 954 Covid patients in hospital across the UK, of which 128 are currently on ventilation.
As of May 22, the daily rate of hospital admissions for Covid patients is 115 and the weekly number of patients admitted is 789 - up by 10.8 per cent in the previous week.
Meanwhile, the government said a further nine people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday, bringing the UK death toll to 127,748.
Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show there have been 152,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
The government also said that, as of 9am on Monday, there had been a further 3,180 lab-confirmed cases in the UK.
It brings the total number of cases confirmed in the UK since the start of the pandemic to 4,470,297.
Today's figures come as Boris Johnson's former top advisor, Dominic Cummings, gave evidence to MPs who are investigating the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
In blistering attacks on the government, Mr Cummings described chaos in Downing Street in the early days of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, those aged 30 and 31 are now being invited for their coronavirus vaccination.
Around a million more adults will receive text messages from the NHS asking them to book their jab appointment.
Health officials have sped up the timetable to offer second jabs in a bid to ensure that those at highest risk are protected from the variant of the virus first identified in India, while also extending the programme to younger age groups to try and mitigate risk.
