Virus hospital cases set for 18-month high

Health chief’s warning of new spike

- BEN GLAZE and DAN BLOOM

HOSPITAL cases of coronavirus could soar to an 18-month peak as the latest Covid-19 wave sweeps Britain, a top health boss warned yesterday.

Dame Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, urged people to prepare for a new spike as two Omicron variants grip the country.

A total of 2.3 million people in private households are estimated to have had the virus last week, up 32% from a week earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics.

This is the highest since late April, but some way below the record 4.9 million at the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave three months ago.