Responding to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures, the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said:

"Trust leaders are monitoring closely the small but concerning uptick in the number of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.

"As today's ONS figures bear out, when COVID-19 infection rates increase so do hospital admissions.

"We are, thankfully, nowhere near the peaks seen during the worst of the pandemic. But if admissions go up dramatically because of a new wave of infections caused by new Omicron variants this summer, the NHS may have to take its foot off the recovery accelerator and divert efforts and capacity into looking after people with COVID-19 once again.

"Clearly we all want to avoid this happening."